A Leader in Peril
by ilyana44
Summary: Zoro was unable to stop Kuma from taking Luffy in Thriller Bark. When Luffy wakes up in Marine Headquarters, he learns that Ace was captured. Soon, Luffy will be in the same boat as Ace. Should he try to escape and get back to his crew, or allow himself to be put into jail, with the hopes of escaping the inescapable with his older brother in tow?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Zoro watched helplessly as Kuma grabbed Luffy by the bandages stretching across his chest. The Warlord's bomb had wreaked havoc on Thriller Bark and sent stones flying everywhere. From what he could see from beneath the giant boulder, none of his crewmates were even conscious. _Damn it_, he thought. _I can't stop him. He's going to take Luffy._

He heard a noise about ten meters to his left. He couldn't move his head to look, but his ears told him the cook was also stuck and couldn't gain enough leverage to break out from under the rubble. Zoro tried reaching for at least one of his swords, but not even a single finger would respond. Kuma stood with Luffy in one hand, staring at the wreckage he had created. Zoro tried frantically to do something – anything. But then Kuma vanished into thin air, taking Luffy with him. His eyes widened, Zoro couldn't even scream in rage or twitch. What seemed like hours passed before he finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

Sanji finally pulled his leg out from underneath the massive stone in front of him. With a cry of triumph, he began kicking away the rubble obstructing his view from the rest of Thriller Bark. When he finally broke out from the debris, he ran toward where Luffy had been. When he realized Luffy was missing, he turned to where Kuma had been and saw only an empty crater caused by the bomb blast. He began to search for people – at this point finding anyone would be helpful. He found Franky first, strewn over a giant stone and clearly unconscious. A few feet away, he saw Chopper's bag and started looking under rocks until he revealed Chopper; also unconscious. He scanned the surroundings again and discovered Robin, Nami, and Usopp. As he was uncovering Usopp, he heard Chopper beginning to stir.

He rushed over to Chopper and told him who he had found. "No Luffy?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"Not yet. But we haven't looked everywhere," Sanji responded.

"Oi! Is someone awake and can get us out?" called a voice from behind a massive chunk of stone.

"Are you guys okay?!" Chopper responded. "Who's with you?"

"Thank goodness. I have the skeleton here with me and most of us forest-dwellers. Is everyone okay on your side? Is Kuma still here?"

Chopper and Sanji shared a look. Chopper called back, "We found everyone but Luffy and Zoro. Check on your side."

Chopper transformed into his human guise and helped Sanji look under the debris. He picked up a boulder and saw Zoro's unconscious form underneath it. "Sanji! I found Zoro!"

Sanji ran over and saw that Zoro had been essentially trapped under a dome of rock: that is, assuming he could move at all. "Okay, great. But we need to find Luffy. It isn't a good sign that Kuma is gone and Luffy is the only one we haven't found," Sanji said. Chopper swallowed hard and nodded.

* * *

They continued searching and found a few more of Lola's group, but still no sign of their captain. Even after Franky, Nami, Usopp, and Robin woke up, they found nothing. Eventually, they broke down the barrier between the Straw Hat crew and the Thriller Bark residents, and they joined in the search as well. At least three hours had passed when Zoro awoke. Chopper had bandaged him, but he could still barely move. He got to his knees before Usopp noticed him. "Guys! Zoro's awake!" he yelled and ran over to help him up.

Everyone else quickly joined him. "How long?" were his fist two words.

The crew exchanged glances before Chopper said, "At least three hours."

"Damn it!" exclaimed Zoro.

They all looked at him curiously. "Do you know something?" Sanji asked.

Zoro sighed. "Yes," he said, "They're gone. I couldn't reach my swords. I tried to do something but Kuma took him and left. Vanished into thin air, just like before. Luffy's been captured. For real, this time."

Tension filled the air as everyone held their breaths: their captain, gone. Somehow it had never seemed like a possibility – they would find a way out as they always had before. But reality slammed into the crew in full force. Suddenly no one cared any longer about their individual dreams. It wasn't even a choice; getting Luffy back was there only option.

They left immediately, taking turns manning the deck and recovering from their injuries. They had taken all the food they could find inside Moria's castle and loaded it on the Thousand Sunny. The atmosphere on the ship should have been one of triumph after finally defeating Oz and Moria and retrieving everyone's shadows. But nobody was ready to celebrate with the shadow hanging over their heads. Before they left Thriller Bark, Brook asked the Straw Hat crew if he could accompany them.

"Luffy wanted you on our crew anyway. We can make it official once we get him back, if that's what you want," Sanji told him.

"Thank you. Even though I'm dead, I feel I have to help," Brook said.

"All right, everyone. We can't stay here any longer. We have to get to Sabaody and figure out where Luffy was taken," Nami piped in.

"Yeah!" the crew responded, setting sail.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Thanks everyone for the reviews! It's my first fanfic so I'm kinda figuring things out as I go. I'm sorta obsessed with One Piece and I've been bouncing around this idea for a while now. I'm really happy people seem to enjoy it. **

**As for the update schedule: it'll be pretty tricky to continue updating frequently over the sumemr, as I will be out of the country for several weeks. I'll continue writing, but access to a keyboard will be difficult so don't expect much until next fall. I only updated this story two days in a row because I already had Chapter 2 written so don't think this will be a regular occurrence. I'll likely be able to churn out another handful of chapters over the next month, but not much more. As for length; I know where I want this story to go but getting there will be an adventure in and of itself. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Piece. The characters and story belong to Eiichiro Oda and Toei.**

* * *

All around him, he heard groaning, beeping, hushed voices, and the bustling of feet. He was so tired; he didn't even want to open his eyelids to see his surroundings. He figured he knew his surroundings; he was probably in some part of the castle and everyone was still recovering while Chopper went around and bandaged everyone up. They had won, after all. No more Oz or Moria, he had made sure of it with his last attack.

Gradually, the voices become clearer as his body was brought into full consciousness. When he realized none of the voices belonged to his crew, he furrowed his brow in confusion. Slowly opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings: they were completely unfamiliar and he recognized nobody. He struggled to sit up, but realized a pair of handcuffs kept him from moving much. Apparently his movement had caught the attention of the doctors, as they hustled over telling him to lie back down.

"What is this place?" Luffy asked.

"You're at the hospital in Marine Headquarters," one man replied. "I'll go get someone to explain the situation to you," he added, shortly before heading out the doors.

Luffy sat there, dumbfounded. Headquarters? No, he must have heard wrong. If he was at Marine Headquarters, then where was his crew? What had happened while he was unconscious? Looking at the nurse checking his vitals, he said, "Marine Headquarters? But I was just at Thriller Bark. Where's my crew?"

She flinched when Luffy spoke directly to her. She avoided his gaze while she answered, "I don't know. This is the ward where we treat wounded criminals so they can be sentenced to pay for their crimes. You were badly injured when you were brought in the other day. The doctor will bring someone to explain everything." She seemed eager to end the conversation.

"What? Sentenced? But I … well I guess that's true," Luffy responded, laughing to himself. "Does that mean these are Sea Prism handcuffs?" he asked, nodding toward the objects in question. She nodded in response, and beat a hasty retreat before he could ask any more questions. He was left to wonder what had happened after he had defeated Moria. Why had he been captured?

As if on cue, the last person he wanted to see walked through the hospital doors and headed straight for his bed. Groaning, Luffy looked up at his grandfather's face and waited for the inevitable outburst and blow to the head. Surprisingly, it never came. Garp just stared down at his grandson, not speaking. Suddenly, he let out a huge sigh and pulled a chair over to the side of the bed before sitting down. Shaking his head, he said, "First Ace and now you. Do you understand how much trouble you two have caused for me!" he exclaimed in frustration. "It's bad enough Ace has been captured, but now you as well." He sighed once more.

"Ace? Ace was captured? When?" Luffy asked, incredulous.

"You didn't know? He was captured by Blackbeard a while back. Shortly after the incident at Enes Lobby, actually," Garp told him. "Now he's being held at Impel Down while the World Government decides his sentence."

"What's Impel Down?" Luffy asked.

"It's a prison for criminals. Really, Luffy, you should at least know this as a pirate," Garp said, although he wasn't at all surprised at Luffy's ignorance.

Luffy ignored this comment, frowning. Garp watched his grandson with interest. He knew how much Luffy admired his older brother and wondered what Luffy would have to say about it. Suddenly, Luffy's face changed into a look of confusion. He looked up and saw his trademark hat wasn't on his head. "Where's my hat?" he asked, looking around the room.

Garp sighed once again; Luffy's attention span was lacking. "It's in my office," he said. "I'll bring it to you tomorrow. But now we need to talk about what happens next," Garp added, dreading this part of the conversation.

"Next? Wait, where's my crew? Are they here, too?" Luffy asked, completely indifferent to his own situation.

"Kuma only captured you, so I don't know. All he said was that he left your crew behind on Thriller Bark. Whether they're safe or not remains to be seen," Garp told him, knowing that Luffy wouldn't move on until he had the information he wanted.

"Kuma?" Luffy asked.

"Aye. He's a Warlord. After you defeated Moria, he was told to capture all witnesses. He only came back with you though."

Luffy let that sink in. If he was captured, it could be problematic. But his main concern was _why_ he was captured. He knew his crew would never let him be captured without a fight. They had all been injured pretty badly so maybe they couldn't put up a huge fight to protect him. If so, how bad of a shape were they in? His main priority at the moment was finding a way to meet back up with them. But Ace… he needed more information first. Looking up, Luffy realized Garp had been talking.

"What?" Luffy asked.

Garp punched Luffy, saying, "You never listen! I said; forget your crew for a minute. Do you realize the situation you're in?! You've been captured by the Marines, you idiot. The only reason you are still here is because you were badly injured. Once you recover enough, you'll be put in Impel Down, along with Ace and all the other criminals. Sengoku has consulted the world Leaders about your sentencing and they're still deciding. It's likely both you and Ace will suffer harsh punishment for what you two have done. I told you at Water 7: I can't let you escape. You chose your side despite everything I told you and trained you for," he continued on his rant about how Luffy picked the wrong side. Eventually he became aware of Luffy nodding off before punching him once more. "DON'T FALL ASLEEP WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

"Ow! Grandpa, that hurt. Why did you do that? I thought you said I was badly injured," Luffy complained.

"Any grandson of mine wouldn't die from something this minor. Did you even hear what I said?" Garp asked.

"Hmm… something about being in jail with Ace. Sounds like fun," Luffy said, laughing.

Garp just stared in disbelief, gritting his teeth. _What an idiot! He has no idea how serious this is!_ He let out yet another sigh before standing up. "You must be hungry." At the mention of food, Luffy's face lit up. Garp added, "I'll go get you some. Then we can talk about what happens from here on out." All hope of having Luffy's attention was once again lost as soon as his grandfather mentioned food. Garp left his grandson's bedside, shaking his head.

* * *

**Please review! I welcome constructive criticisms. **

**Chapter length: I'll try to make them longer but sometimes what I want to say in one chapter doesn't take as long as others. They will begin to get longer as we go.**

**Thanks for your interest!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you everyone for your continued interest! As I said before, I'm obsessed with One Piece. None of my friends watch/read it so I can't talk to anyone about the latest episodes or anything. I'm really happy to be getting such great responses from you all. **

**My main concern with the story at this point is whether or not I'm staying true to the characters' personalities. It's never been my strong point, so please let me know if anything seems off. **

**Without further ado, here is Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Piece. The characters and story belong to Eiichiro Oda and Toei. **

"What?!" a voice cried from outside the bar.

Makino looked at the door, wondering why the mayor sounded so upset. She shared a look with the one customer in her bar, before they both proceeded to run outside. They saw the mayor holding a newspaper, clenching it tightly with an angry look on his face. Makino could see that people all over Foosha Village were peeking out of their windows to see what was happening. Makino ran over to the mayor and asked what was wrong.

"It's… it's ridiculous! This can't be true. Garp… he… why would he let this happen?" he said, mostly to himself.

At the mention of Garp, Makino's heart dropped a little. She already knew that Ace had been captured; the News Coo had delivered that news a while ago. Had his sentence been decided? She walked behind the mayor in order to read over his shoulder.

STRAW HAT LUFFY CAPTURED

Vice Admiral Garp captured the infamous criminal last week. The pirate was caught while he and his crew were attempting to bring down yet another Warlord. Vice Admiral Garp stopped the attack and subdued the pirates. The Straw Hat captain was arrested and sent to Impel Down, and the world is awaiting a sentence from the World Government. Monkey D. Luffy, the pirate who …

The newspaper went on to describe the various accounts on which Luffy would be charged. Makino, reading this, just stared in disbelief. The mayor crumpled the paper in his hand and threw it on the ground, stomping off in the direction of the post office, presumably to call Garp with the long-distance Den Den Mushi. Makino's gaze shifted to the crumpled picture of Luffy on the front page. It was a picture she had hanging in her bar; his Wanted poster picture. He looked so happy. It couldn't be true. He was supposed to be out on his adventure, fulfilling his promise to Shanks.

When Ace had been captured, Makino felt so alone. The village had no idea why she had been so depressed about the news. She had spent several days in the mountains with Dadan. The mayor had tried several times to bring her back to town, but she claimed that she needed to be with Dadan to keep the woman calm. She hadn't been lying: Dadan was enraged. She wanted to storm into the town and steal a ship, sailing it to Headquarters and yell at and beat up Garp. Makino calmed her down, saying that he had only been captured and nothing had even been decided yet. But Makino was using Dadan's rage to mask her own feelings as well: she may not have known Ace as long as Luffy, but he was like a younger brother to her. She had eventually returned to the village, taking her own advice and not jumping to conclusions.

But this… it was Luffy. Why anyone would want to harm or capture him boggled her mind. She knew he was classified as a criminal, but Luffy was not a bad person. He helped more people than he hurt. Having both Ace and Luffy in the Marine's prison was weighing heavily on her heart and mind. She barely noticed when the rest of the village picked up the paper and passed it around, exclaiming at the news. They called it outrageous, and began lining up at the Den Den Mushi. Makino mechanically made it back to her bar, wondering at the reactions of peoples across the world. She didn't know the adventures Luffy had been on and the people he had met, but there was no doubt in her mind that there were people out there just as angry and worried as her. _Shanks_, she thought. _He… he will be furious. I wonder what he'll do? Take action? No. He'll pretend it's no big deal and stay in the area, just in case. After all, he knew the risks of being a pirate when giving Luffy that hat…_

Her thoughts continued as tears streamed down her face. She reminded herself to wait until he had been sentenced before worrying. Luffy would be upset to see how little faith in him she was showing.

* * *

Kaya stared at the newspaper, rereading the description for the hundredth time. There was no mention of Usopp's name. Or Sogeking, his alter ego. Surely they would have said if another pirate was captured. It was upsetting that Luffy had been taken, but Kaya was mostly just relieved that Usopp hadn't been. She stared out her window to the tree where Usopp would often sit and tell his stories. She missed him, and now she was worried with the new knowledge that he had tried to take down a Warlord. What kind of danger was he putting himself in? She sighed, turning back to her studies. If he needed her help, she would be there for him.

* * *

"Get back to work, you worthless dogs!" yelled Zeff. "I'll not have you burning and wasting food on account of some stupid article!" To make his point, he took the article in question and ripped it to pieces before throwing it in the garbage.

"But, boss, we're just thinking that if Straw Hat was captured…" started one of the Baratie cooks.

"That what? Sanji was, too? Did any of you see his name even mentioned? No! Stop worrying. The only ones you need to worry about are those damn Marines that Sanji will beat up. They'll have that Straw boy back in no time. So get back to work!" Zeff shouted. He was tired of the depressing attitude over that last day since the newspaper had arrived. He went upstairs to his room, weary of dealing with the cooks. He closed the door behind him, sighing and rubbing his stump of a leg. Straw Hat would be fine, he thought as he smiled to himself. That boy has something about him that gave him no doubts several people would fight to free him.

* * *

Nojiko was bringing a bag of tangerines into town when she heard Genzo shouting once more. She sighed, hauling the bag into the room, expecting to find him upset about something stupid. Once she saw he was holding a newspaper and yelling into a Den Den Mushi, her heart lightened. _More news on Nami? Another suggestive picture, maybe?_ she thought, excited about hearing about her sister once more. Before she could take the paper from him, she stopped in her tracks, listening to what he was yelling about.

"Where is she?! The newspaper just mentions _his _name! What about Nami? She wasn't caught, too, was she?!" He seemed frantic. "What?! No! I won't be talked to like that. The nerve – ! Did you just hang up on me!?" He yelled, his voice getting even louder. Nojiko, so happy seconds ago, felt her heart drop. _Captured?_ she thought.

Genzo huffed into the receiver and caught sight of Nojiko in the doorway as he was about to call again. He froze, looking between the bag of tangerines, Nojiko's worried features, the Den Den Mushi, and the newspaper. His face fell, immediately calmer, as he put the receiver back and hid the paper behind his back. But he knew it was already too late, she wasn't stupid. She had obviously heard enough of his words to know who he was talking about. He watched as she stretched out her hand, silently demanding the newspaper. He wordlessly brought it back in front of him and handed it over. Her features remained surprisingly impassive as she read the article.

"What did they tell you?" she asked him.

"Nothing. They refused to release information related to it," he told her.

"Well, why worry? Nami isn't even mentioned. I'm pretty sure they would flaunt it if they had captured another of the elusive Straw Hats. Here are your tangerines," she said, surprisingly level-headed. "See you later!" she called as she headed back outside, leaving Genzo staring after her.

She walked back to the house she, Nami, and Bellemere had shared. She meant what she had told Genzo; why worry? Nami was incredibly clever and sly. Nojiko was honestly more worried about this Garp man who had taken the young boy that saved Nami from Arlong. In another few days, they'd be receiving a newspaper about the miraculous escape of Straw Hat Luffy.

* * *

The woman grabbed the paper Dalton handed to her. As she scanned the news, her immediate reaction was amusement. She laughed, causing Dalton to raise an eyebrow.

"They list all of this boy's crimes, but they don't even know the half of it, I expect. There isn't a single mention of his time here. They even gave Chopper such a low bounty. Really, the Marines are clueless. I imagine it wasn't even this Garp person who captured him; probably another pirate or even the Warlord himself. I wouldn't worry too much. Now the Marines have two big-name criminals on their hands. They don't have the ability to deal with all the flack they'll be getting. Chopper will find a way to get him out," she explained herself, laughing again.

She left Dalton soon after. On her way back to the castle, Doctor Kureha chuckled to herself, realizing once again how naïve and over their heads the Marines were. She had seen Straw Hat Luffy climb to the top of a mountain, carrying two people and wearing nothing to block the cold. His determination was not something to sneeze at. His crew had no doubt taken much of his personality into themselves, and would stop at nothing to take back their captain. She knew the Marines had picked the wrong crew to mess with this time.

* * *

Iceberg pounded away at the ship-building yard. All day, the atmosphere among the employees was downtrodden. He had lectured them all earlier about being professional and providing the customer service that was required. Straw Hat Luffy and his crew were the ones who had gotten Franky to finally admit his wish to himself. They were all sure that this young man would become Pirate King one day. So, naturally, it came as a shock to them when they heard he had been captured. But Iceberg was unconcerned: Franky wouldn't let anyone but Straw Hat sail on his ship. His crew were very reliable and had already declared war on the government; he couldn't imagine that breaking into a prison would make them hesitate. He was confident his friend would find a way to help his captain.

**Thank you all for the reviews! This chapter is longer than the previous ones. I was going to add a few more reactions, but the three I have left to do are going to be pretty long. I decided to split them up and make another chapter dedicated to their reactions. I'm also on the fence about two other reactions so I needed a little more time to plan it out. The next chapter will see more action than this. Sorry for the sappy chapter, but one of my favorite parts is seeing what old characters are up to. **

**Please continue to review and read! I hope you enjoy the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi all! **

**Okay, so I have a dilemma. I have plans for the next few chapters, but I realized something the other day – due to Luffy being captured, the Straw Hats left Thriller Bark a couple days earlier than in the canon version. Realistically, this would make them never run into Camie and Hatchi, which means they wouldn't have known about Rayleigh, no auction house, etc. The auction house is irrelevant to my story, but Rayleigh can go either way. What do you guys think? Should I just make them run into Camie and Hatchi anyway? Let me know.**

**With that out of the way, here is Chapter 4 !**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Piece. The characters and story belong to Eiichiro Oda, Toei, Shonen Jump, and Funimation.**

"A little to the left!" yelled the old man.

"Old man, you're crazy. It's fine," Kohza replied to his father. He was manning the pulley system while it lifted a massive stone to rest on the developing building. He and his father had been rebuilding Yuba over the past several months, hoping to bring people back to the once prosperous city.

"He's right, Leader. It needs to go left," a woman's voice agreed.

Looking down, Kohza saw a blue-haired woman standing next to a camel. Smirking, he said, "Oh, sure. Agree with _him_," but he moved it anyway. He climbed down off the makeshift platform and admired his work. His father was right; it had needed to go to the left. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he turned to Vivi and asked, "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

Vivi didn't miss the sigh and just smiled. She answered, "Father thought it'd be a good idea for me to visit other cities to collect progress reports. He wants to develop a system where soldiers come help the places most in need."

"Ah. Well, I think we're doing pretty well," Kohza responded, gesturing at the now almost completed town hall. "Soon, all we'll be missing are the residents. Maybe your father can send some of those our way instead, eh?"

Vivi smiled, pulling out a bundle of newspapers from a saddle bag on the back of her favorite camel. "I brought some newspapers from the past few weeks. I know the News Coo hasn't realized people live here yet," she said, passing over the heavy bundle to him.

He glanced at the top of the bundle to see if there was anything terribly important. He froze. _What?_ he thought, not sure if he saw what he thought. The bindings keeping the mass of papers together obscured his view of the article. He started tearing away the binding, earning a confused look from Vivi. _What?! _he thought again, looking sharply up at Vivi. _She… she must not know_, he realized, seeing the look of confusion on her face. "Have… have you read yesterday's paper?" he asked.

She shook her head, starting to feel concerned. "No," she said. "I was about to leave when the News Coo arrived. Igaram added it to the bundle before throwing it in the saddle bag. I meant to read it on the way, but I guess I forgot. Why?" she asked, wondering why Leader was so out of sorts.

Wordlessly, he handed her the article in question. He watched as her eyes moved back and forth, becoming wider as she read. He saw her reread it several times before she looked up at him, tears forming in her brown eyes. He didn't know what to say. He had barely met the Straw Hat Pirates. All he knew was that they had saved their country and its princess. He felt grateful to them, but he knew Vivi had a deeper connection. She once told him why she had decided to stay in Alabasta after the pirates had left, but he had seen her sadness and longing. Her relationship with the unusual crew was one of friendship and he knew she would have willingly become a pirate for them, if her country hadn't needed her.

Her eyes just stared at him, boring holes into his own. She still viewed him as "Leader". She still depended so much on him… But he didn't have any idea what to say. "I… I… Vivi...," he started.

"What's all this ruckus about, eh? Kohza!" his father exclaimed, seeing the look on Vivi's face. "What did you do?!" He rushed over and wrapped his old, weathered arms around Vivi's shoulders. "What did he do, dear?" he asked, before Vivi turned her eyes to him and looked back down at the news article, willing it to be different this time. The old man's eyes followed hers, quickly scanning the article. He looked up into his son's eyes, and sorrow filled them. He led Vivi back to her camel and told her guards to prepare to leave for the castle. Kohza walked over to help Vivi mount up, and then turned to his father.

"I'm sorry, old man. I have to go with her," he said.

His father simply nodded, adding "Just be careful. Make sure the princess doesn't do something too reckless." He patted his son on the shoulder and walked back to the construction site, where everyone had stopped working to stare at the exchange. He instructed them to go back to work. Kohza ran to saddle his horse, not wanting to make Vivi wait too long.

Soon, they were on the road to the palace. It was late afternoon before Vivi finally spoke. "Kohza…" she said, barely loud enough for him to hear. "I don't know what to do." Her tears, which had been threatening to fall all day, finally poured down her cheeks. "If… if I stay here, I might regret it forever. But if I go… people here need me. Kohza," she cried, looking at his face for the first time in hours, "what should I do?!"

* * *

His head hurt. He cursed under his breath, swearing to never drink that much again. _Damn pirates_, he thought to himself, _letting me drink so much. What a sorry bunch of excuses for a crew._ He cringed, remembering how they had tried to tell him to stop, but he just yelled at them to shut up and keep partying. _Ugh, I'm getting too old for this. _He couldn't even remember what they had been partying about.

With a grunt, he sat up, glad that his cabin was so dark. He looked at a nearby table and saw that someone had left a glass of water on it. Gulping it down, he felt slightly better. With no way to avoid it, he opened the doors and groaned as the sunlight hit his face. Some of his crew (the ones who hadn't drunk to excess) were already up and beginning their days. Once his door opened, they looked at him, laughing at his obvious hangover.

"Shut up," he told them, his head hurting too much to yell loudly. They stifled their laughs, but couldn't stop grinning and smirking.

"Boss, there's land up ahead," a crewmember called from the crow's nest.

"Oh, great, just what I need," he muttered to himself.

A few hours later, the pirate ship approached the island. It seemed to be the home of a few small villages, and not much else. His crew prepared for a hostile greeting, as they always did with each new island. However, as they walked into the nearest village, they saw a few hesitant people staring from windows, and they got a few curious glances from shoppers and merchants, but no one approached them and questioned their presence: it seemed like this island was used to pirates.

The group reached a bar and walked in, seating themselves while their captain went to the bartender and ordered food for everyone. As he was walking back to a table farthest from a light source, he heard the bartender whispering to the waitress, "That… is that who I think it is?"

"Who?" the young waitress whispered back.

"That red hair and those scars…" the bartender seemed at a loss for words.

Shanks sighed. _Of course. Now people will start freaking out. This can't be good for my health_, he thought, sitting down next to his crew.

The Yonko's first mate, meanwhile, had separated from the group in search of news. They hadn't come across a News Coo in several days and he knew there was trouble stirring; the capture of Fire Fist Ace was a great matter of concern for Whitebeard. As a fellow Yonko, Benn Beckman thought Shanks should be aware of any news pertaining to Ace. He found a post office and bought a newspaper, staring at the front cover. He froze, dread filling his mind. Quickly reading the article, he turned and ran to the bar.

Shanks headache was only made worse by the loud banging caused by Benn storming into the building. Glaring at his first mate, he realized the look on his face was filled with concern. Wordlessly, Shanks took the newspaper offered to him. As he read the front page, his crew could see his knuckles whitening and heard the angry exhalation of their captain. Slamming the paper down on the table, Shanks stomped out of the bar. Benn ordered all crew members to follow; they weren't going to be getting a break on this island after all.

* * *

The air was heavy on the Straw Hats ship. The crew had made it out of the Florian Triangle and could see the Red Line. This should have been a cause for celebration. If Luffy had been on board, they would no doubt be dealing with another of his outbursts of excitement. As it was, however, it only barely managed to lift their spirits. They all smiled at the thought of reaching the halfway point, excited to see the famous landmark that symbolized the crew's skill and success. One step closer to fulfilling all of their dreams. But when this thought crossed everyone's minds, realization hit them like a bomb. Who did they all have to thank for achieving this much? For getting this close to their dream in the first place? Luffy. And his dream was what tied everyone together. The atmosphere darkened then; it felt like a betrayal, reaching this monumental landmark on their journey without their captain.

As everyone's mood worsened, a familiar cawing drew their eyes to the sky. Usually, the arrival of a newspaper would seem insignificant to anyone except Nami and Robin. But with the situation being what it was, they all clamored to be the first one to read it. Naturally, Nami won the short-lived fight and quickly unfolding the newspaper, everyone holding their breaths. Her eyes moved quickly as her friends looked on, hoping for some kind of good news.

After she finished, Nami sighed and passed the paper over to a waiting Robin. "It's about what you'd expect. The Marines say they captured him, but left out any mention of Kuma. It's just like them to take credit for a pirate's work, even a Warlord."

"And that was it? Just that they captured him?" came Chopper's small, worried voice.

"They also mention he was taken to Impel Down, which seems unlikely," Robin answered, finishing her turn and handing it to the waiting Franky. Everyone crowded around Franky, trying to read the article over his shoulders.

"Impel Down? But that's the prison for pirates, isn't it? Why is it unlikely they sent him there, Robin-san?" asked Brook.

"You saw how badly he was injured in the last fight, Brook," Nami answered instead. "Even if they are the Marines, they wouldn't send someone that injured into prison without fixing him up a little first. Besides, the paper mentioned Garp, which means he must be involved. Pirate or not, Luffy is still his grandson. I can't see him just sending his own grandson off to prison before he even wakes up."

"And if Garp was mentioned, Coby must be with him as well," Zoro put in. Everyone turned to him, surprised at his input.

Sanji lit a cigarette and said, "So you aren't as dumb as you look, stupid marimo."

"Eh? What's that, dartboard?" Zoro yelled.

"I said 'you aren't as dumb as you look, stupid marimo'!"

"I heard you the first time, shitty cook!" Zoro said, pulling out two of his swords.

Nami hit them both over the head. "Now isn't the time, you two!"

Zoro and Sanji just glared at each other as Usopp asked, "Well, what should we do now? If Luffy isn't in Impel Down, where would he be?"

"Probably at Marine Headquarters," answered Robin. "It isn't very far from here. Nami, how far do you think we are from Sabaody?" she asked, turning to the navigator.

"Hmm…" she said, looking at her Log Pose, which was still pointing to the ocean floor. "I'm not sure, but Lola said it wasn't far from the Florian Triangle to Saboady. Maybe just a day or two." Before the crew has left Thriller Bark, Lola had explained what the next stop would be for the Straw Hat crew. She had also given them what she called a Vivre Card that would lead to her mother once they found their captain and crossed the Red Line. Nami had taken the Vivre Card, finally realizing what Ace had given to Luffy back in Alabasta.

"We need supplies. What was left in Moria's castle was a joke. Sabaody is probably our best bet," said Sanji.

"Sanji's right. We should head there first. We can make our way to Headquarters or Impel Down then, wherever Luffy is by then," Nami decided.

Brook watched the exchange, grateful to join in the search for the Straw Hat captain. Even if he wasn't officially part of the crew yet, he felt a need to help out. He had heard all about Laboon in the past day since Luffy had been captured. He needed to thank the boy for himself. _Luffy-san_, he thought, _your crew is coming for you._

* * *

Garp entered the hospital room where his grandson was sleeping. Despite his claim earlier that day, he was actually worried about the boy's injuries. No, they weren't life-threatening, but what had happened to him? As far as knew, nothing Moria could do would mess up anyone's insides like Luffy's were. Kuma had claimed the boy was already unconscious when he arrived at Thriller Bark, so what had happened. _Probably being reckless again_, Garp thought. _Although I suppose I am partially to blame for it, seeing as I trained him to be._

He hated this. He hated seeing his family fall apart. He had dealt with it when his son had turned away from him, and now he watched both his grandson and Ace, who was practically a grandson, go down similar paths. How could he protect them if they didn't listen to his warnings? He had purposely placed them away from the world's eye, but they had both managed to catch its attention anyway. He had never doubted his position as a Marine, but he couldn't help but feel like he was failing his family all over again.

**Once again, I underestimated how long these reactions would be. They were fun to write though. If the slow pace is annoying you, I'm sorry. But it just means there will be more chapters in the long run!**

**As I mentioned above, please let me know if you think they should run into Camie and Hatchi or not. The story would be easier if they did, but if you want me to stick with how things would actually have worked out; I can make that work too. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews! They really help inspire me to keep writing this story. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all! **

**Sorry for the later-than-expected update… Seven straight weeks of archaeology can leave a person worn out. But I'm now back in business and will try to update as much as I can before the semester starts up. Thank you to everyone for waiting patiently – you're all awesome!**

**The people have spoken: the Straw Hat crew will be meeting up with Camie and Hatchi. But, due to the time differences that I pointed out last chapter, the meeting will happen differently than in the canon version. Onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

* * *

It was the morning after the newspaper had reached the Straw Hats. While the atmosphere on the ship was subdued, it held a new sense of direction that had been absent before the newspaper was released. Knowing where their captain was taken renewed the crew's determination. They knew what they needed to do. Now, their main worry was _how_ they were going to accomplish it. If Luffy was with them, his luck would no doubt lead them into the hands of a much-needed ally, or he would make an ally. The only problem was that Luffy wasn't with them. Yes, that was the entire problem. If he was with them, they wouldn't have a reason to need a miracle. So it would be pointless anyway. Sanji sighed, his thoughts having taken this circular path dozens of times since the day before. But he was right, they could use a miraculous pair of helping hands right about now. If only they had even half the luck of their captain. He turned back to the meal he was preparing. He had to remind himself to make less than he normally would, as they were missing their most voracious eater.

Sanji heard when his friends starting filing into the kitchen. Usopp entered first, yawning widely and loudly: clearly he hadn't slept well. Brook was next, humming a tune out of habit. After he has settled down at the table, the door opened to reveal the two female crew members on their ship.

"Nami-swaaaan! Robin-chwaan!" Sanji exclaimed as the two women entered the kitchen. As they sat down at the table, he immediately placed their meals in front of them.

"Thanks, Sanji-kun," replied Nami automatically. She looked at Usopp and saw his tiredness. She understood, as she hadn't slept much either. She couldn't stop worrying about how they were going to get Luffy back. She had no doubts that they _would_, but as things stood right now, it was going to be incredibly difficult. By the time they finally reached Sabaody, Luffy probably would have been moved to Impel Down. They needed to confirm his location before they made a move. She heard the door open once more and watched as Zoro sauntered in, looking grimmer than usual. She noticed that he was in a foul mood and let out another sigh. Zoro, if possible, was taking Luffy's capture harder than the rest of the crew. He had hardly spoken a word, unless it was to pick a fight with Sanji. Nami imagined that he blamed himself for not being able to push away the debris that had kept him trapped and unable to prevent Kuma taking Luffy. Zoro sat at the table, glaring at Sanji, as if daring him to mention the circles under his eyes. Sanji, to his credit, acted as if Zoro hadn't entered and went back to serving out meals to the rest of the crew as they came through the door.

They ate silently, noticing now more than ever just how much Luffy's absence changed things. None of them wanted to talk about the inevitable. Usopp finally broke the awkward silence by saying, "How are we supposed to break in to Marineford? Since it's headquarters, isn't that where all the admirals would be?"

"Eh?! Admirals? You mean like Aokiji?!" yelled Chopper, sounding scared.

"Aokiji?" asked Brook.

"Yeah, he's a Marine admiral. His Devil Fruit abilities allow him to control ice," Nami informed him before continuing, "I've been wondering that as well. I mean, all we know at this point is that Luffy will eventually be sent to Impel Down. Chopper, when you saw Luffy's injuries before Kuma appeared, what did you think? How long do you think it would take him to recover enough to get up and moving again?"

"Since it's Luffy we're talking about… I would probably guess maybe three or four days. He was worse off than in Water 7 due to all those shadows forced into him. And he used both of his gears at the same time… But, with that bomb that Kuma set off, I'd say he would need at least five days to recover," Chopper said, sounding very worried.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the temperature in the room seemed to drop as it sunk in. They all knew that Luffy had been injured. Even before Kuma had shown up, they had sat around Luffy's injured body in Thriller Bark, discussing the seriousness of his wounds. They all looked at Chopper with a newfound respect; he had kept his cool at how injured his captain was, even when he had known the severity of it. They all had faith in his skills as a doctor, but _five days? _After Luffy had fought Crocodile, getting poisoned in the process, he was out for three days. After Water 7 and Enies Lobby, Luffy was out for two days. Luffy was known for his recklessness, but they had to admit that Thriller Bark was really the first time they had seen his recklessness in full force. They weren't really sure what had caused a lot of his wounds in previous battles, but they saw the strain he put on his own body first-hand in his fight with Oz and Moria.

"Five days? But… that's worse than ever before," Usopp broke the silence once more.

"Yeah, but keep in mind Luffy would have been out of it longer in Water 7 if Garp hadn't woken him up," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette. "Don't start worrying about that rubber idiot's health: the Marines will fix him up nice and neat before throwing him into a prison, just to show him how helpless he really is." This statement sent Chopper and Usopp into panic mode as they imagined the horrors Luffy would be subject to in prison.

"Would you two calm down?!" Nami yelled at Chopper and Usopp, hitting them both over their heads. "We already decided we're rescuing him so stop. As for Marineford… I feel like it might be harder to rescue him from there as opposed to Impel Down. I mean, the Fleet Admiral is there, along with all the other higher-ups. Impel Down… well, I guess I'm not too sure who guards it…" Nami trailed off, looking towards Robin.

"From what I've heard, the warden ate a Devil Fruit that gave him impressive powers. I don't know much else, but it is called the underwater prison and I believe there are five levels of prisoners. Only one man in its history has ever managed to break out, as far as I know. If we were to break in to rescue someone, it would certainly be a first," Robin supplied, darkening the mood once again.

"So we're back to square one," Franky said. "The problem is that we have no idea where Luffy is right now and how long he'll be there. Both Marineford and Impel Down sound really tough." The other Straw Hats nodded at this.

"Enies Lobby was hard enough, and that was with a train and half an army on our side," Sanji said. "But, regardless of where Luffy was taken, we have to go to Sabaody first. We are in serious danger of a food shortage and it's a good spot to leave for either location from," Sanji finished, effectively making a final decision on the matter for now. The crew looked again at Luffy's normal spot and, with a collective sigh, dispersed around the ship, preparing to land at a new island.

Half an hour had passed when Zoro spotted a small boat a ways ahead of them. He quickly called to Nami and Franky, who were standing at the helm. As soon as Nami saw the small vessel, she called to Usopp to use his goggles and see who it was.

Looking through his goggles, Usopp called out, "It-it's a pink ship… The sail says 'Takoyaki'…"

"Eh? Takoyaki?" asked Nami.

Usopp nodded in response, still staring through his goggles, trying to get a glimpse of whoever was on board the ship. The ship started turning towards the Sunny and Usopp saw a girl situated behind the counter on the ship. She wore a pink bandana over green hair and had on a white apron with some kind of logo on it. The girl had caught sight of the pirate ship and was waving at Usopp, smiling away and yelling something towards him. In response, Usopp pointed to himself, as if making sure she was actually talking to him. She nodded emphatically and turned around and disappeared into an inner cabin on her ship.

"Usopp! What is it? So you see someone on board?" Nami called, sounding annoyed.

"Y-Yeah. There's a girl… I think she makes takoyaki or something. She was waving at us before she…. oh! She's back! But who is…." Usopp's voice drifted off as his eyes got wide. The girl had indeed come back, but she was no longer alone. And Usopp recognized who she was with. Once again, he saw her gesturing to Sunny and could see she speaking to the man she was with. Usopp watched as his eyes took in the ship, and knew the moment the fishman recognized the Jolly Roger. He started sweating and looked very uncomfortable as the girl prattled on beside him, and the pink ship drew nearer to the pirates with every passing moment.

Usopp lifted his goggles and stared at Nami, wondering what to do. She was visibly annoyed now, having had her many questions ignored. But as soon as she saw Usopp stare at her with concern and fear, her anger was forgotten. Realizing the goggles were no longer needed to see the oncoming company, he shakily spoke to Nami, asking her to look at the ship for herself. She climbed up beside Usopp and grumbled about useless crewmates before turning her eyes to the sea. The minute she recognized the fishman, she froze.

"Hatchi," she whispered, barely audible even to Usopp, two feet away.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is little bit on the shorter side. I figured I'd rather give you all something instead of making you wait longer. I had originally planned to keep going, but I got to that last line and realized it was a good place to stop. **

**And now, I've been really bad about responding to reviews, so here I will make up for that. **

**laFia: I'm happy to hear that you were excited for the chapter. Here's a little more of the crew's reaction for you. And, yeah, knowing Luffy, his crew will arrive to rescue him and chaos will be what they jump into due to something Luffy did. I also agree about Rayleigh. I didn't really want to leave him out. And I'll always be a fan of the Camie/Hatchi duo. **

**phonenix: Well, here's the start of the run-in anyway.**

**PirateDragons121: Thanks for the input! Here's part 1 of the meeting.**

**Son of Whitebeard: I always did like Benn. None of Shanks' crew gets enough air/chapter time. Also, happy belated birthday!**

**horacioquinter0: Sorry for the confusion. Here is the takoyaki duo (poor Pappug, always being forgotten). And Garp… I've always imagined his life has been difficult. Roger, Dragon, whoever the heck Dragon's mom was, Ace, Luffy, and whatever else we don't know about yet. But he has a good heart, I know. Just look at Dadan and the bandits. Ah, but I digress…**

**Leska: I'm sorry! I know how it feels to want to read a story and the author disappears. But I've updated and I'm back! So yay!**

**miranda: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the past couple chapters. As for if it'll be a huge rescue party… the Straw Hat crew is super unpredictable so this story could easily take a direction even I didn't foresee. I guess we'll both have to wait and see.**

**smfan: So happy to hear you love the story! It warms my heart a little. The majority wanted Camie and Hatchi, so I guess I'll do it now. It will also significantly aid in the flow of the story, so I'll introduce them now. Don't worry; Rayleigh will for sure be in this story. **

**Black Night Wolf: Thanks for the review! I love Garp, personally. Always figured there was more to him than meets the eye. And I decided to go with Camie and Hatchi, as you can see. **

**LittleChomper: Sabo… hmm… It honestly hadn't even crossed my mind. I'll have to think on this one.**

**crazzyredhead: I'm glad you like it. As for who will show up…. I guess we'll have to see. It might be awhile because this story is already taking longer than I thought it would. **

**BBLimits: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Chapter 3 was super fun to write. As I said before, I love watching past characters' reactions to the shenanigans of the Straw Hat crew. Garp is really neat and I want Oda to tell us more about him! **

**Thank you to everyone for the favorites/follows and the reviews! It means so much to me. **


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**Guys, I'm so sorry for the delay. I realize it's been months, and I truly do apologize. I'm working 2 jobs and have a full schedule. BUT! I promise I will not give up on this story. But I make no guarantees of a regular update schedule. Without further ado, please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Usopp and Nami, standing in the crow's nest, slowly made their way down to the deck to join the other Straw Hats. Before Sanji could swoon over Nami and yell at Usopp for her obvious state of distress, Chopper asked her what was wrong.

Nami, a look of deep contemplation of her face, looked into her friends' faces. She turned to Usopp and asked him to keep watch on the approaching ship. She then took a deep breath before letting out a massive sigh. A small smile came over her features as Usopp ran to the front of the ship next to the figurehead.

"I'm fine. We just have some unexpected company. This _would _happen when that idiot is gone," she told the crew, shaking her head. She looked up at Zoro and Sanji, giving them meaningful looks and continued, "I thought all of Arlong's crew had been captured, but apparently the Marines missed one of them."

At this, both Zoro and Sanji looked shocked. Sanji's face morphed into one of pure anger and Zoro fingered the hilts of his three swords at his hip. Chopper, Brook, and Franky were looking between the three crewmates, confused. Robin stayed silent, but seemed concerned.

Sanji took a breath before asking, "Which of the bastards? I'll kill whoever hurt my Nami-san."

Zoro didn't say anything, but seemed to actually agree with Sanji for once. Chopper was staring at the three and finally asked, "Who's Arlong?"

Nami responded, "Oh. He… uh… He was a fishman pirate on my home island. He… he controlled my town with fear and killed lots of people. Luffy defeated him back in East Blue and got his first bounty just afterwards."

Brook, Chopper, Franky, and Robin looked surprised by this news. Brook said, "It seems you all have had quite the journey."

Franky grumbled, "You don't even know the half of it," clearly thinking of Enes Lobby and Water 7.

Chopper piped up, "Yeah, but I guess we don't know a whole lot about what you guys did before coming to the Grand Line." He looked up at Nami, Sanji, and Zoro as if he was expecting the story of their journey since Zoro had been recruited.

Sanji just sighed again, saying, "You guys have no idea. Luffy is so reckless it's surprising we even made it over Reverse Mountain. Or even escaped Loguetown, for that matter."

"Escaped? I've never been, but isn't Loguetown notorious for the pirates who pass through?" asked Robin.

"Yeah. Smoker was there, but we got away," Zoro put in.

"We can tell stories later. For now, let's go deal with this. Hatchi was one of the nicer men Arlong's crew but I really don't want to take any chances here," Nami said, turning the conversation back to the original point.

"Hatchi?" asked Sanji.

"Oi, isn't that that octopus guy with the swords?" put in Zoro, grabbing his favorite sword by the hilt as a look of eagerness flashed over his face.

Nami nodded her heard and said, "Yeah, that's him. Like I said, he was kinda clueless but I don't trust him."

"Don't worry, Nami-swan! I'll protect you!" Sanji gushed as the crew made their way to the front of the ship to stand next to Usopp. Sanji's swooning turned into a grumbling of insults towards anyone who dared hurt Nami, which the rest of the crew ignored. As the pink ship approached, it became clear that they did indeed make and sell takoyaki.

"If Luffy were here, I have a feeling he'd be conflicted," said Franky, gesturing the floating food stand. "He'd want to beat Hatchi's ass, but still would want to eat their food." The mental image of a conflicted Luffy made everyone smile sadly.

It was very clear at this point that the fishman on board was indeed Hatchi. The girl standing next to him still seemed completely oblivious to the obvious discomfort of Hatchi as he stared up at the now-visible crew members beside the lion figurehead. She was gesturing emphatically as she spoke to him, her voice drifting up to the pirate ship, although they were still too far away to make out distinct words. Hatchi was nodding along with what she was saying until he caught sight of Nami, accidentally locking eyes with her. Immediately, he tensed up and looked away, as if ashamed. Nami, for her part, continued staring at the fishman, her features indecipherable. Once the smaller ship was near enough, the green-haired girl shouted up, asking if they wanted any takoyaki. Usopp looked to Nami expectantly, although he was already readying a rope to toss to the ship. Nami stayed silent for a brief moment before nodding to Usopp. _Might as well deal with this now. Maybe they can tell us about Sabaody_, Nami thought, resigning herself.

Ten minutes later saw the rise of the most tense moment upon the Thousand Sunny yet. Hatchi stood on the deck, beads of sweat rolling down his face while the crew gave him nasty looks. Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook may not have known exactly what had happened with this fishman, but they knew enough to dislike him immediately, on principle alone. Sanji, surprisingly, seemed very calm. He had lit a new cigarette and his hair shadowed his eyes, his posture undeniably imposing. Zoro watched the fishman almost with anticipation, as if he wanted a rematch. Usopp was only slightly shaking, clearly attempting to be brave for Nami's sake. Nami just stared at Hatchi with a guarded look, intensifying his discomfort. There was one person who seemed oblivious to the tension in the air: the girl. She was wearing a dress that went down to the floor, chatting amiably to no one in particular. In her arms was what appeared to be a stuffed starfish.

"When I saw another ship I was so excited! Hatchin here makes the best takoyaki you'll ever try!," the girl was saying. She looked at the crew with a big smile, as if expecting them to share in her enthusiasm. She saw them staring fixedly at Hatchi and turned to him, seeming to infer that they were silently asking him the truth of her statement. Once she had calmed down enough to actually look, she saw the sweat dripping down his face and the awkward stance as she shifting from foot to foot. Looking him up and down, she turned back to the crew assembled before her. "Anyway…" she started, seeming to finally catch on to some of the tension, "would you guys like some?"

No one answered. It seemed as if nobody even heard her. Just as she was about to speak, another voice popped up, "Camie… maybe we should go…"

The new voice sounded scared, as if already wishing they hadn't climbed on board the ship. This unexpected voice seemed to shock some of the Strawhats out of their state as they looked around for the source of the voice. Chopper made a shrieking noise and pointed at the stuffed starfish in the girl's arms as he jumped behind Zoro's legs. This made the other crew members look at the starfish. Except… it wasn't stuffed. It was moving and trying to shrink in on itself away from their gazes.

"Oh! This is Pappug! He's my friend. My name is Camie, and this is Hatchin… although it seems as if you might know him," her voice trailed off, like she wasn't sure what to say next.

As soon as she said his name, the pink fishman flinched visibly. Nami's eyes immediately went back to his face, scrutinizing him. He refused to meet her gaze as he said, in a low voice, "Camie… these are the Strawhat pirates. I doubt they want any takoyaki."

"Oh, they're pirates? Then of course they'll want some food," Camie responded, now more excited than ever. There was a brief moment of silence before she screamed, "EH?! Pirates?! Oh, Hatchin, we gotta go!" At these words, she tried to turn with an equally-freaked out Pappug in her arms, but tripped somehow and went down hard on her own face.

This seemed to snap Hatchi out of his humble state, as he yelled her name and bent down to help her back up as fast as he could. But if he was trying to keep the pirates from noticing what made her odd, he failed. When she landed, her floor-length dress flapped and they were given a glimpse of her… tail? No. Fins? She was a mermaid. All at once, the crew gasped and watched Hatchi help her back up to her… fins. Sanji's cigarette fell out of his mouth as Pappug and Camie cried out in terror of being discovered. He was a loss for words. Following his cigarette, he fell slowly to the ground until he was on his hands and knees. Immediately, Chopper ran over to him and asked "Sanji! What's wrong?!"

Zoro simply scoffed derisively, but even this didn't register with Sanji. Tears were now streaming down his face as he seemed to be experiencing an internal dilemma. The rest of the crew, completely ignoring this typical behavior, continued to stare in shock at the trio huddled near the railing of the _Sunny_.

Nami was the first to recover, and finally spoke, "Hatchi," the fishman's eyes snapped to her face, dread overcoming his features, "why aren't you in prison with the rest?"

He answered immediately, sensing that any hesitation would be ill-received, "I escaped before they could catch me. Arlong and the other weren't so lucky. As soon as I could, I went home. I've known Camie for a while and we started up this takoyaki business." There was a moment before he added, "Nami, I-"

"Where's your home?," Nami interrupted.

He looked surprised, but answered all the same, "Fishman Island. I'm sure you've heard of it by now, being so far into the Grand Line."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course we've heard of it. But if your home is a place full of fishman, why would you and Arlong set out among humans, when you hate them so much?" she asked.

A look far darker than the previous discomfort took over his face. This, it seemed, was a question that he did not like her asking. He struggled with an answer for several seconds before responding simply, "It's a very long story and goes back to well before I was even born."

Not expecting this answer, Nami's scowl lifted temporarily. Curiosity shone in her eyes as she looked to Robin. Robin, meanwhile, had replaced her impassive look with a scowl of her own. Sensing Nami's eyes on her face, she asked a question of her own, "Is this to do with the prevalent discrimination of fishman and merpeople?"

As Hatchi's eyes darkened imperceptibly with a nod, the other Strawhats, including Sanji and Chopper, all looked at Hatchi with a sense of astonishment. Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro seemed most surprised. Nami's small question voiced all of their thoughts; "What?"

* * *

**YAY I FINALLY FINISHED IT! This chapter anyway. Rest assured, this is definitely not the end of the story, although wouldn't that be amusing? No, I'm just excited because I've had this chapter partially complete on my computer for months and have been unable to work on it longer than a few minutes at any given time. I realize I could have gone on with the chapter, but I am just so ready to move past this bit so here you go. **

**As for reviews: thank you all! Starting next chapter, I will be responding individually to reviews, with the exceptions of guest reviews. So, here is the last public response to reviews:**

**crazzyredhead: Shanks will definitely be in later chapters. As for Law, he might make an appearance, I suppose we'll have to wait and see if he graces us with his presence. Sabo… I'll neither deny or confirm any plans I have for him. Dragon will most certainly be showing up, but where he will be is the question.**

**BBLimits: Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this. Garp is one of my favorites, so he'll definitely be back.**

**Azul-Dono: Thank you so much!**

**asura. keji:****: You're too kind. Thanks very much. As for the Supernovas: I can say that at least one of them will show up in later chapters. Maybe all, but I guess we have to wait and see. **

**Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! I do not anticipate the next update taking almost *cough* 6 *cough* months. I truly am sorry, but thank you all for your patience. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Hey guys. So, it's been a while. This is becoming a bad habit of mine. As always, my promise still stands. It'll just take me awhile (my brain is betraying me by giving me 3 new story ideas simultaneously and that just won't do). Rest assured, I am slowly working on this story. **

**Please note that I take some liberties with Nami's state of mind in this chapter because I just don't see her getting over this whole Arlong/fishman thing anywhere nearly as quick as in the manga/anime. I do drag it out some more but she'll be back to good, old Nami soon enough. **

**Normal disclaimer applies: no owning of characters or canonical story going on here.**

* * *

The Straw Hat crew brought Hatchi, Camie, and Pappug into the kitchen and sat at the dining table. The room was crowded now, but it wasn't the people that made it so. They could all tell that Hatchi's story would be a long one and wanted to make themselves comfortable before listening to it. As Sanji busied himself with doling out cups of tea and inquiring of Camie what she would like best, the other occupants sat down reluctantly, avoiding the massive elephant in the room.

Hatchi, however, skipped over the fattest elephant and found a smaller, almost forgotten one to mention. "Hey… Nami? Umm… where's Straw Hat?"

The breath almost seemed to be sucked out of everyone, including Sanji, mid-question. Hatchi immediately knew he had said something he shouldn't have, but it couldn't be taken back now. All of pirates stared at the table, except Zoro who looked at Hatchi with unblinking eyes, although they seemed to tighten around the edges. It was he who answered the question, "He's not here right now. We're on our way to him. Gone and landed himself in trouble again."

He sounded for all the world that this was just another of Luffy's 'adventures' gone awry, and he had left his crew to clean up after him once more. Like that, the tension snapped like a rubber band breaking and the Straw Hats all had grim smiles ghost across their faces. The crowded feeling went away and the air felt breathable once more. Hatchi and Camie looked at one another and Sanji resumed his question to Camie, as if he had never stopped speaking in the first place.

As soon as Camie had responded with her preferred tea flavor, it felt as if a creature, having just been shooed away for a brief moment, was creeping back into the room, crowding it once more. It seemed as if the smaller elephant had been acknowledged and left the room, letting the larger elephant grow bigger and take up even more space. Left the room, but not the ship. It was always lurking just around the corner.

The air was suddenly too tight and Nami felt as if something would break if nothing was said. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Hatchi…." Everyone looked up at her. "I know I'm ignorant of the world, but I felt so sure about fishmen's place in it. I know there's a Fishman Island and I've been wondering since I heard of it, but… if there's a place of just Fishman, why did Arlong come into the human world when he hates humans? And what's this about discrimination? I thought it was the other way around. I… I just… It makes me so angry, Hatchi!" she turned her face toward him, away from the table and her red eyes became visible. "I don't get it! Why? Why would he do that to… Cocoyashi and the other towns if he didn't have to?"

Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji stared at her. They understood her frustration and the confusion she felt. It hit them that as soon as Kokoro had mentioned a Fishman Island, Nami's confusion had likely been swirling around, leading to this outburst. Chopper, Franky, and Brook looked shocked. They had known Nami for a while and never seen this kind of reaction from her before. They didn't really understand the brief mention of Arlong they had heard on deck earlier, but it was clear that the fear and killing he had caused left deeper scars on Nami's heart than she had let on in that brief mention. Robin had a frown and looked concernedly at Nami before turning back to Hatchi. Camie looked even more clueless and surprised than the four newest members of the pirate crew, and sat speechlessly holding her cup of tea. Hatchi had cringed when the words kept coming and now he sat there, staring straight into Nami's eyes and looked incredibly lost and sorrowful.

"Nami-san…" Hatchi started. "I wish I could change what happened. We were horrible to you and I'm very sorry." At this, Hatchi bowed his head for a moment. Nami's face tightened, but she remained silent. Sighing, Hatchi lifted his head, but his eyes still stared at the table beneath him. "It's a long story and I'm not the best person to tell it, but humans on the Grand Line… In pretty much all of the world except the East Blue… they hate Fishman. What Arlong-san did… the humans in the Grand Line wouldn't have let him land before calling the Marines to take care of him, even if he wasn't a pirate. They would have seen him as a Fishman and called the… authorities to dispose of him… _properly_." He said the last word with a sneer and immediately looked ashamed of himself, casting furtive glances to Camie and the Straw Hat crew. He tried a new approach to explaining, "When you saw that Camie is a mermaid, she was worried, right? It's because here, if the wrong people found out she was a mermaid, they would have captured her and sold her into slavery."

All of the Straw Hats aside from Robin gasped. "Slavery?" came Usopp's voice. "But… why?"

Camie just looked uncomfortable as Hatchi's face tightened in a grimace. "Because," he said, "people here hate Fishman. They acknowledge that mermaids are beautiful and they want to keep them like pets, tied up and there for their personal viewing pleasure."

The Straw Hats looked sick as Hatchi described how the slave trade worked. How mermaids and fishmen were so valuable and how they couldn't come to the surface world without being in danger of capture. As he spoke, Camie shifted uncomfortably and the pirates just stared at Hatchi, aghast at the new knowledge.

"It's a really long story as to why all of us went with Arlong to East Blue, and – "Hatchi started.

"Look, Nami, I realize this is important. But do we really have time for this? We need to get moving," Zoro interrupted.

The occupants of the room looked around at Zoro. Nami slowly nodded and stood. "Hatchi… I want to know. But now's not the right time. You guys should go. We're heading to Sabaody and we really don't have time to waste sitting here." She turned to her crewmates and started giving directions to unfurl the sails. The crew filed out of the room while she turned expectantly back to the table and Hatchi, Camie, and Pappug sitting there. "I know that Luffy will want to try some of your takoyaki when he gets back," she said, forcing a smile. "We can meet up after we find him, okay?"

Camie, clearly confused, stood with Pappug in her arms. She stared at Hatchi, waiting for him to say something. Hatchi took a moment to collect his thoughts before saying, "Can I help at all?"

Nami, who had started leaving the room, whipped back around in a flash. "What?" she asked, breathless.

"I want to help if I can. You said you're going to Sabaody? I don't really know what's happened to Straw Hat-san, but I want to help. If you'll let me, I know someone in Sabaody who can help. He has connections all over the archipelago and he can find any information you need," Hatchi replied.

Nami sighed before responding, "I appreciate the offer, Hatchi. But the problem isn't that he's on Sabaody somewhere." She sighed again, seeming to contemplate something. Making a decision, she pulled a rolled up newspaper from her back pocket and handed it to Hatchi. "We know where he'll be soon, if he's not there already. No, Hatchi. The problem isn't finding Luffy. It's getting him back. I'm not sure how much help this friend of yours will be." Nami tuned away and walked out of the door onto the grassy deck.

Hatchi stared at the article in his hands, Camie reading it around one of his many arms. Before she was halfway through the article, Hatchi thrust the article towards her and ran out of the room, yelling for Nami to wait. Camie watched his back as he raced out of the room, before turning her eyes back to the crumpled paper in her hands. She carefully unfolded the paper before heading out onto the deck, where she could hear Hatchi's voice explaining that this new development was all the more reason they might need his friends' help. Camie understood what Hatchi wouldn't say – she felt sure that Hatchi was hoping his friend would be able to talk them out of… of breaking into Impel Down to rescue their captain. _Are they crazy?!_, Camie thought as she watched her friend assure the pirate crew that his friend could help them. _Impel Down… that place is a death sentence. They're pirates! Even if they do seem nice, the Navy will jump on the chance to arrest them…_ Camie's thoughts trailed off when she took in the determined faces of the pirates. The entire crew had regathered on the grassy deck and was staring down Hatchi with utter resolution and, in the cases of the younger members, hope. She looked at the Jolly Roger flying over her head and noted the Straw Hat. She realized this Straw Hat-san, or Luffy, who kept being mentioned, must be their captain. Her heart suddenly swelled with warmth at such an obviously closely-bonded band of pirates, before her stomach dropped out and she realized what this meant. She had known these people for less than an hour, but already she felt closer to them than any humans she had ever encountered before. If these people went to get their captain, as she now knew they wouldn't hesitate to do, and failed or were too late, the crew would not recover. She knew that they would rather be captured than fail, and a numbness spread through her body at the realization that it was practically impossible for them to succeed. They were going to fail and she would lose any chance of being their friend.

As she walked closer to join the circle on deck, the green-haired pirate spoke up. "So this friend of yours. What makes you so sure he can help? Is he a former Impel Down guard or something?" he said, skepticism creeping into his voice.

Hatchi hesitated only a moment before responding, "No. He has never worked for the Government. He used to be first mate on a pirate ship, a long time ago. In his… travels, he made a lot of connections. He'll know the right questions to ask and the right people to ask them to."

Nami stared long and hard at him before asking, "And why would he help us?"

"He owes me a favor. And Rayleigh-san always pulls through. The hardest part is going to be finding him, but I know where he spends most of his time, so someone will have seen him lately," Hatchi responded.

Nami and the long-nosed boy opened their mouths to speak, before the swordsman spoke up. "All right. We'll go to Sabaody and ask where this man is. But we need to hurry so if he can't be found, we're leaving without speaking to him. We'll find our own information if need be. But you're coming with us. We can't risk you running off and telling someone our plans." He received dumbfounded looks from some of his crewmates and others looked like they wanted to argue. He just stared them down and said, "We don't have time for this. This is taking too long. Nami; which way do we go?"

Nami looked at her log pose, shaking herself, and looked up at the sky before pointed in a direction to the Northeast. "We should be there by nightfall. So we can go ashore in the morn-"

"Did you not hear what I said?" Zoro interrupted, getting more wide-eyed looks. "No. If we get there at nightfall, then we go ashore at nightfall. We don't have any idea what they're doing to Luffy or if he's already hatched a plan of his own. We need to be able to help him with whatever he needs as soon as we can." With that, he turned away and climbed into the crow's nest, leaving the rest of the crew to turn the ship on a straighter course, murmuring under their breaths. Usopp approached Hatchi and Camie with a length of rope, gesturing that they should attach their ship more securely to the railing at the stern. Looking back at the subdued crew, Hatchi felt a flicker of fear that they wouldn't be able to find Gold Roger's first mate in time.

* * *

It was way past his curfew. If Garp-san found him, he'd be in so much trouble. And he'd had to slip Helmeppo-san something to put him asleep so he wouldn't wake up and cause a ruckus at his absence. Coby peeked around each corner on his way to the criminal wing in the Marine hospital. The light blue walls seemed less than inviting in the eerie light from the nearly-full moon outside the barred windows and the atmosphere it created only added to his already-high anxiety levels. But he didn't dare turn back. No, Coby needed to see him. He couldn't believe it, not until he'd seen the boy with his own eyes. The news about Fire Fist Ace being captured was huge, but the "arrest" of Monkey D. Luffy so soon afterwards made the buzz of gossip even louder. Garp had told him the real story – or, at least, the unofficial version. It was obvious even his grandfather didn't truly know what had happened to Luffy on Gecko Moria's massive ship. It wasn't that he didn't believe Garp, it was just… it was Luffy! Luffy, his first real friend. The one who pushed him into following his own dream. The unbeatable, unbreakable Straw Hat Luffy. And he traveled with Roronoa Zoro. How anyone could beat down both of them was unthinkable.

He crouched behind a gurney as a patrol officer strolled by, looking extremely bored and tired. When the officer turned the corner, yawning widely, Coby silently rushed to the next hallway, consulting his hand-drawn map. It was sloppy, but the best he could do on short notice. He knew the room number where Luffy was kept, due to a slip-up by Garp. But he'd had to do the rest himself – finding the blueprints of the massive ward in a large pile of junk in the corner of the archive building next door. He turned the last corner, pausing only a moment before slipping the stolen key inside the locked door. Man, he would be dead by sunrise if Garp knew he'd taken the key from his office. He quickly turned the lock and darted inside, closing and locking the door silently behind him.

He turned to the raised bed on the opposite wall and stared at what he saw. It was definitely Luffy. Covered in bandages, a few wires trailing from his arms to machines on both sides of his bed, and handcuffed to the armrests, but it was him. His hat clutched tightly in one hand, snoring loudly and a puddle of drool forming by his slightly turned face, Luffy lay unaware and healing. Healing from what, Coby didn't know. From what he could see, the scrapes on Luffy's face and arms were healing quite nicely and they didn't explain his unconscious state. According to Garp, in a rare moment of concern, Luffy was injured _inside_. Coby didn't understand what this meant, but he certainly did not like the sound of it.

He jumped at the sound of movement coming from Luffy's bed and noticed that Luffy was trying to turn over in his sleep but the handcuffs prevented him from doing so. He reached out and touched the cuffs reflexively to help his friend before he realized what he was doing. He retracted his hand and stared at the Sea Prism cuffs incredulously. _Sea Prism?! But he's in a hospital. They can't seriously expect him to get any better while Sea Prism stone is wearing him out all the time!_

Coby's anger grew at this, his fist clenching at his sides when he heard a soft _click_ from behind him. He whirled around, hands already in a defensive position in front of his face and chest. Garp stood in front of the door, quietly smirking at him, a hint of pride in his eyes at Coby's quick reflexes.

"You know," Garp started, sounding as if this was a normal encounter, "Luffy is such a deep sleeper that you could literally scream into his face and he wouldn't wake up. You didn't have to be so quiet coming inside his room."

Coby stared up at his commanding officer, his jaw slack. Garp saw his expression and laughed. "Oh, yes, I've been watching you the whole time. You really think I left that key in my room by accident? Or that I just happened to mention what room Luffy was in? I knew you'd figure it out one way or another, but I must admit I'm impressed with how prepared you were in less than a day." Garp let out another chuckle, shaking his head. "I raised Luffy, remember? I've seen every escape attempt in the book. Although, I must say that his tries were never so… sophisticated as yours has been."

Garp walked around to Luffy's other side and stared down at his grandson, a completely unhidden look of grief and sadness overcoming his face. Coby stared at Garp, shocked at this uncharacteristic show of affection. Garp turned his eyes upward and a small smile overtook his features, doing nothing to chase away the despair in every inch of his face. He stared at Coby and admitted, "Coby, I'm afraid for him. He's my grandson. Look at what he's gotten himself into. I know what his sentence will be – what it has to be, because of his father. But they won't release a sentence until he's healed. They'll need new pictures of him to print in newspapers across the world. That's why the Sea Prism. It'll make him heal just that much slower. I don't want to send him to that place, Coby. Its reputation doesn't live up to reality. I've been there, seen what it's done to people. He really is truly better off here, surrounded by officers and hospital staff. He'll be leaving in a week. I've managed to give him that much time. Any more and we'll all be under suspicion. So visit him while you can, Coby. Because the next time you see him, he'll be under a sword, not a scalpel."

* * *

**You guys truly are fantastic. All your favorites and likes mean so incredibly much to me. I think this is the longest chapter of this story yet, so yay! **

**Also, I realized that there was a slight error in chapter 1 when I wrote that the supplies they received on Thriller Bark were rather lacking. I was casually rewatching that arc when I realized that Sanji literally says the exact opposite – they have stuff to spare. Oh well. We'll pretend that didn't happen. Yay fanfiction possibilities! **

**Please continue to review, as I really do become so much more motivated when I've received a review. Even if it's a "nice chapter" or a "you forget an 'e' in the word 'the'", I really do appreciate it. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Hey, look! I didn't take months to update this time! Yay me!**

**Normal disclaimers apply: I just enjoy Oda's characters from afar.**

* * *

They stared in awe as the archipelago came into view. They stared in awe as they pulled closer, put up the sails, and let down the anchor. Hatchi, Camie, and Pappug took the non-island in stride, preparing to go ashore, donning the necessary disguises. Hatchi had explained to the pirates that this island was a giant mangrove forest and that they needed to go to the mangrove marked with a giant "13" in order to hopefully locate his friend. The pirates, whose astonishment had only slightly diminished, nodded and followed him as they walked to the correct grove. Usopp had to pull Zoro's arm in the direction the others were walking at least twice along the way.

As they walked, Hatchi explained the nature of the bubbles that surrounded the newcomers. He also described the numbering system for the Groves on the archipelago. They made their way past shops and customers, taking turns when indicated by Hatchi. After a short while, Pappug asked how their captain, when he was so notoriously strong, had been captured. This earned him glares from most of the pirate crew and assurances that Luffy being captured was through no fault of his own and that had he not just defeated yet _another_ Warlord, he may have been able to face-off the one who had shown up to claim his head. This response caused shocked gasps from the Fishman Island trio.

"But the paper… it said a Marine captured him," Camie said.

"Since when have the Marines ever admitted defeat? They wanted to save face so they changed the story," Sanji growled, his anger at the situation resurfacing. Franky nodded emphatically in agreement. The other crew members looked equally upset by this reminder and Pappug and his friends wisely stayed away from the topic of the Straw Hat captain for the remainder of the walk. The atmosphere of intrigue among the group had been abruptly dissolved, and they followed stiffly behind Hatchi to their destination.

They arrived at a bar on top of a hill fifteen minutes later. The crew looked at Hatchi, wanting confirmation of their arrival and saw his wariness. He sighed deeply and turned to the crew, saying, "Shakky has known Rayleigh-san for forever. If he isn't here, Shakky will know the most likely place to look for him." Receiving nods from the group, he turned around and opened the front door.

The interior was vacant, save a tall woman behind the bar. It looked clean and tidy, but it was somehow still evident that it had been a good while since there was any decently-sized crowd sitting in the assortment of wooden chairs and stools. The dark-haired woman, presumably Shakky, looked up as the group of eleven walked inside. She paused in her cleaning of a beer glass and set it down when her eyes widened, taking in the disguised fishman at the front.

"Oh, Hatchan! Long time, no see!" Shakky exclaimed.

"It's good to see you again, Shakky," Hatchi responded.

"Yes. How long has it been? 10 years?" She asked, smiling.

Hatchi nodded, and then starting speaking, "Listen, Shakky-"

"Oh! And who are your friends?" Shakky interrupted.

"Well, that's actually why I'm here. These are the Straw Hat Pirates. They-," Hatchi started once more.

"Straw Hat? As in that kid in the paper?" she interrupted again, looking more solemn and staring at each newcomer. She knew she had hit the nail on the head when a few of the crew seemed to deflate and others almost seemed to growl at her. Smiling, she said, "I see." She turned back to Hatchi. "You want to know where Rayleigh is. I'm sorry to tell you, but he isn't here. I haven't seen him in six months."

At this, the whole crew seemed more forlorn. Their best lead on new information had proven to be a dead-end. Usopp and Chopper let out little sobs, while Nami approached the bar.

"Shakky-san. Just because you haven't seen him doesn't mean you don't have an idea of his whereabouts. Do you have any clues? Hatchi seems to think this Rayleigh can really help us out somehow," Nami asked.

Shakky eyed Nami with a stone face before once more staring down the other crew members. "You know," she started, "I've kept up with the news of many pirate crews. I don't know the details of your travels, or why you have a living skeleton on your crew. But one thing I do know is that the Government likes to make themselves look good. I also noticed that Monkey-chan has the same name as the Marine Hero Garp. I'm willing to bet money that they're grandfather and grandson. I've met Garp, a long time ago. He wouldn't capture his own grandson like that. There's more to this story than any newspaper can tell me. I'll call my husband for you. Rayleigh probably won't answer, but I know he has also been especially interested in Monkey-chan for 10 years now. He'll be willing to help you out, if I can get a hold of him." With that, she turned away and walked into a back room.

The crew stood, watching the door close behind Shakky as she went to call Rayleigh, who was apparently her husband. "Ten years?" Usopp asked to the bar as a whole. "But… Luffy would have been seven. Why was he so interested in Luffy at age seven?"

The crew shook their heads in confusion. "Maybe… perhaps it has something to do with Red Haired Shanks," came Robin's voice. "I don't know how long Luffy has had his hat but he's made it sound like it's been a long while. That hat used to belong to Shanks and he must have been a well-known pirate, even ten years ago, in order to now be a Yonko. I'm just not sure how this Rayleigh-san is involved."

Hatchi swallowed. He knew why Rayleigh would have had contact with a Yonko. He wanted to tell the Straw Hat crew what he knew, but he was aware that it wasn't his place to share that information. He was saved from saying what he knew anyway when Shakky came back, a baby Den Den Mushi in hand.

"Just as I thought, Rayleigh has lost his Den Den Mushi. He left it behind at a bar. Luckily, the bartender says he saw him yesterday. He thinks he knows what bar Rayleigh is at today. I've written down the name here," she said, sliding a piece of paper over to Nami. "It's in Grove 7 so it's a bit of a walk."

The crew thanked her and immediately turned to leave. "Wait!" Shakky called. They turned back to her and she continued, "According to my information network there are 7 other Supernovas on Sabaody right now." At their confused faces, she explained, "There are 8 people, including you, Roronoa-chan, on Sabaody with bounties over 100 million Berries right now." She ignored the gasps of surprise and fear. "Roronoa Zoro, Trafalgar Law, Scratchman Apoo, Basil Hawkins, Jewelry Bonney, X Drake, Capone Bege, and Urouge. Only three other rookies with bounties over 100 million aren't here right now: Monkey D. Luffy, Eustass Kid, and Killer. I'm telling you because if they find out that you are here without your captain, some of them won't hesitate to pick a fight. They'll want to meet you, Roronoa-chan, to see if you're worthy of your bounty."

"We'll keep an eye out," Zoro responded, fingering his sword hilts while exiting through the front doors. The crew took one last glance at Shakky, mumbled a "thanks" and followed their swordsman out the door. Hatchi, after a hasty apology and a promise to return again soon, ran after them, carrying a still-in-shock Camie in his arms.

* * *

Jakob was exhausted. He had a terrible headache, which seemed intent on becoming a migraine. The hours he had put in lately were beyond anything he could find an excuse for. He had been assigned to field any calls about Straw Hat Luffy. Normally, any Marine could field calls from citizens concerned about an arrested pirate. They received many calls from Den Den Mushis across the world from parents, siblings and friends of arrested pirates. They also received calls of congratulations from antagonized peoples or nosy people who thought they could do the job better, but were willing to grudgingly admit a job well done when they saw it. Monkey D. Luffy was no different. Well, that wasn't true. His case was almost unprecedented in its massive amounts of backlash the Marines had received. The last time they had received so many complaints for an arrest was when Gold Roger was taken in. It quickly became apparent less than a day after the release of the newspaper that calls about Straw Hat Luffy were blocking lines left and right. They delegated Jakob, who had worked in the department over a year, to handle these calls. That left him with no breaks for ten hours straight, only for him to lean back in his chair and let loose a deep sigh before another call came in. It had been two days. Two full days and maybe 4 hours of disjointed sleep in a very uncomfortable chair before a pause between calls was long enough for him to actually clean himself in the locker room a floor above.

As he trudged back downstairs, he stopped for a plate of food from the cafeteria and the largest cup of coffee he could find. He had left Silva to answer the calls in his stead. She was newer than him, but the person he felt was most able to deal professionally with the people he knew would be calling in his absence. He had talked to at least 50 people alone from one Foosha Village, supposedly where Straw Hat had grown up in. Another 100 at least besides that had called from places throughout the East Blue and the Grand Line. Not a single phone call had been of a congratulatory nature. Every single one of them started and ended with shouting. _The Marines have made a mistake; He saved my life, how dare you; I don't care if he _is _a pirate, he's a better man than anyone at that base; He's just seventeen, cut him some slack; _and his personal favorite: _Garp is a bastard if he thinks for one second that I'll let him get away with arresting his own grandson. He leaves me with two children, no warning at all, and expects me to sit by as he arrests both of them. _That particular woman had demanded that she be patched through to Garp, not taking no for an answer. It was clear that she had met Garp and after an hour of refusals and excuses that grew weaker and weaker, Jakob was forced to put her on hold and call Garp himself. Garp had laughed and laughed when he heard about the trouble Jakob was having and, once he calmed down, told Jakob to patch her through directly to him. He never knew what Garp had said to the woman, or who she was, but she never called back.

Jakob felt more alive than he had in two days as he walked back into his office. What he saw made him immediately tense up once more: Silva was holding two Den Den Mushi receivers, one in each hand, tears streaming down her face as she tried to calm herself down from the audible shouting Jakob could hear from the entrance. There were papers scattered all over his desk where she sat, as if she had been looking for the callers' names in the notes he had left for her and thrown them in the air when she was unsuccessful. She locked eyes with him and just deflated, her body language and face screaming for help. He quickly strode over and grabbed one receiver, listening to the voice for a moment. It was that cursed mayor again, Woop Slap. By far one of his more frequent callers, he knew this meant the start of another round through the citizens of Foosha Village. No doubt they were all lined up behind this man, waiting to use the Den Den Mushi after he was through saying his piece for the hour. Jakob calmly waited until he paused for breath, then swooped in with a calm demeanor explaining that nothing had changed and that Garp would not talk to anyone else. This set the mayor off again, and Jakob took that time to turn his attention to the other screaming receiver held by Silva.

It was a man whose voice he did not recognize. He once more told Woop Slap that he would call back later, and was relieved when the man finally huffed and slammed his receiver down on the other line. Jakob waited for the next call that he knew would be coming in any second before he calmly told the caller to please wait while he dealt with another call. He grabbed the still-loud receiver from Silva, gestured for her to go clean herself up, and sat back down in his uncomfortable chair.

He listened to this man speak and learned quickly he must have been from Alabasta. Not one of the places he'd heard from most, but he'd heard enough from a man who called himself Igarappoi to know this man was describing Straw Hat's harrowing efforts and heroics in Alabasta.

_Luffy-san saved m- this country. And my daughter's life. He defeated Crocodile, who even you all admit was a crook! How can that possibly be a bad guy! The paper says he was trying to defeat another Warlord – did you even stop to think that maybe this one was a crook, too?! _

Jakob interceded at this point, "Sir. I understand what you're saying and I will make note of your concerns. May I please have your name, in order to properly present your information to the judges in Monkey D. Luffy's case?"

There was hesitation on the other side. Jakob's eyes widened. Why didn't this man want to identify himself? He heard a sigh, then could somehow feel a shift in the air, as if a person of great power just walked into the room. "My name," came the man's voice, "is Nefertari Cobra, king of Alabasta. I do not endorse the arrest of Monkey D. Luffy and I request to speak in front of the judges of Straw Hat's case."

* * *

**Not gonna lie, you guys: I did not see that ending coming. I knew I was going to have Cobra call, but he made a decision even I didn't expect. The minute I decided he would use his actual name, my hands just typed this out of their own accord. I'm very pleased with this chapter. **

**Thank you to everyone who has favorited and reviewed! Please keep it up. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Sorry, sorry. I know you all have been waiting. My best excuse is having two jobs, about three applications that, if accepted, would lead to moving thousands of miles away with another new job, and a close family member having surgery (no worries, nothing terrible or unexpected, but still requiring much care). I am back though! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I know it's unnecessary to repeat this every chapter. But I still do not own One Piece or its plot or characters. I _do_ own the plot of _this_ story and any and all brand new characters you may see.**

* * *

If he had ever been at the bar in the first place, Rayleigh was long gone now. They'd gone back to the bar where his Den Den Mushi had been found and told the bartender as much. After collecting the Den Den Mushi, the crew had every intention of handing it over to Hatchi and Camie before heading to the _Thousand Sunny_ to plan out their next move. Zoro was adamant that they would not waste any more time looking for the elusive Rayleigh. It was a rare move for Zoro to pull rank, but he had threatened to leave behind anyone who wasn't on the ship when he left. In an even rarer event, Sanji had agreed with him. Despite Chopper and Usopp's well-intentioned arguments to stay and search, Zoro's seniority, position, and, quite frankly, evil aura, overrode them and all eight Straw Hats left the bar, followed by a solemn Hatchi and a still-confused Camie and Pappug.

As they walked back through the street, a loud commotion coming from another bar caught their attention. As they watched, the front doors burst open, nearly snapping the rusty hinges in half. A white-haired elderly man, probably drunk, fell to the ground face-first. His inability to break his fall was soon made clear when the onlookers caught sight of his rope-tied hands at the small of his back. Hatchi gasped and all the Straw Hats shot him a quick look. Before they could ask any questions, the doors banged open once more and their eyes were drawn to the two men sauntering out, glaring down at the man on the ground. The shorter of the two was sporting a bloody nose and the taller had a thin scratch on his cheek that had already stopped bleeding.

The two stood on either side of the man, whose only movement had been to turn his head to the side to breathe. He seemed oblivious to the men standing on either side of him, instead looking around at the gathering crowd like he hadn't a care in the world. This seemed to make the standing men much angrier as they glared down at the older man, but they didn't make any move to touch him. The doors opened again, but much more gently than before. Another tall man walked toward the prone figure. His pale face was mostly covered by his wide-brimmed black hat. His long brown cloak had mud stains along the hem and even more mud-stained boots peeked out from the space between hem and ground.

The new man came to a stop near the head of the man on the ground and started speaking, his whispery, hoarse voice reaching the ears of the bystanders. "All you had to do was move to a different chair. I've been on my feet all day, you see, and was rather looking forward to sitting in my seat. I've seen you around, old man, so you should have known that was my seat."

At this, he crouched down so his face was nearer to the lying figure, who had not so much as acknowledged any of the three men surrounding him. He seemed rather indifferent to his predicament, lazily casting his eyes around at the shops lining the street and occasionally looking at the crowd. The ring-leader of the trio of bullies clenched his fists and his lips twitched downward in anger. But when he spoke, there was only a slight tremor betraying his anger. "Since you couldn't be bothered to move aside when asked _so _nicely, I guess you'll need a lesson in manners," he said, grabbing the man by his long white hair and lifting his head off the ground.

The only reaction from the man was a shift in focus; instead of reading the names of shops and glancing over the crowd, he now scanned the onlookers' faces carefully. His eyes reached the Straw Hat crew and there was a nearly indiscernible narrowing of eyebrows, followed by a very obvious widening of his eyes when he saw Hatchi, with Camie and Pappug clinging to his back. As quick as the look came, it was gone. By the time the ring-leader had lifted the old man's head six inches off the ground, the prone man's eyes had hardened and were finally staring directly at the dirty man who held his head up. He no longer looked drunk or disinterested, and the ring-leader noticed the difference.

"Finally caught your attention, eh, old man? Well my first lesson is that it's rude to stare!" shouted the thug as he released his grasp on the man's long white hair, letting his head thud back to the street. At the same time, the ring-leader brought his foot back and his two companions surged toward the old man with a nasty gleam in their eyes. As the boot swung forward to the old man's ribs, the prone figure folded his body in half and swung his tied hands around his own feet to knock aside the oncoming blow. The suddenness of the counterattack caught the ring-leader off-balance and he fell hard onto the street, his arms cartwheeling comically as he went down. The two others reached the old man, who had jumped onto his feet and they brought out swords from sheaths hidden underneath their long dirty robes.

They swung clumsily in their anger and haste and the old man merely stepped to the side to avoid the blows. Behind him, the ring-leader had gotten back up, murder on his face, wielding a sword of his own. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with, old-timer?" yelled the red-faced man as he swung his weapon at the old man's back. Almost quicker than he could see, the old man turned around holding his tied hands in front of the moving sword. Time seemed to slow as bystanders saw the sword perfectly slice the rope off between the man's hands, missing both of his wrists by millimeters. Without any hesitation, he brought his newly-freed hands back to either side of his body and deftly caught two oncoming swords, one in each hand. Everyone froze for a moment and they saw the two thugs with swords in their hands, arms straining and faces covered in sweat as their sword blades were inches away from the old man's back, but held still by his hands. The ring-leader recovered from his own attack and brought his sword up to strike once again. The old man's arms bulged with surprising muscles as he yanked the two swords out of their owners' hands and, in a move that was a blur, managed to grab both by their hilts and block the blow, shattering the opponent's sword in the process.

The two men behind him had been pulled forward along with their weapons and they fell to the street. The ring-leader's eyes bulged as he watched the shards of steel that had been his sword rain down to the ground. The old man took one lightning step forward and brought one of the sword hilts down in a mighty blow to the ring-leader's head, knocking him out. He turned around and delivered similar blows to the thugs as they tried to stand up.

The following silence was almost deafening. The bystanders that had started to leave as soon as weapons became visible paused and looked back. Most of the Straw Hats stood in shock, but Zoro had a hand on the hilt of his white sword with his eyes narrowed and Robin looked intrigued. Camie and Pappug were also shocked as they clung to Hatchi's back. Hatchi was looking at the passed out thugs with something between sympathy and satisfaction. He looked up as the old man dropped the two swords and their eyes met. The man gave an almost imperceptible nod toward the end of the street and Hatchi nodded in return. The old man gave no more acknowledgement to the crowd or thugs as he turned away and loped lazily to the end of the street.

The rest of the crowd had broken out in whispers that grew louder with each step the old man took further away. Hatchi hiked up Camie on his back and coughed loudly. His eight companions turned to look at him questioningly. "That," Hatchi started, "was Rayleigh-san. He wants to talk to us so let's follow him."

"What?!" exclaimed Usopp. "_That _was him? The old man?! But… he… he's super strong!"

Hatchi merely nodded and started after Rayleigh.

Chopper turned to Zoro and asked, "Do you think he can actually help us, Zoro? I mean, he _was _pretty strong."

Zoro stared after the retreating old man. Sanji responded, "Honestly, Chopper? He seems strong enough to help. But I still don't understand why he would have any reason to uproot his life for a pirate he's never met. It's not like getting Luffy back is going to be easy."

Chopper's face fell, but Robin piped up, "I think there's a lot more to this man than we realize." Her crewmates turned to her. She was also staring at Rayleigh as he approached a curve in the road that would take him out of view. "A man with that kind of power and restraint isn't just a nobody living in a lawless town. He has a story. And who knows?" she brightened up, looking down at Chopper. "Maybe our captain can work his magic and gain us some allies even while he's not here."

* * *

They had followed Rayleigh and Hatchi back to Shakky's bar. Along the way, the Straw Hats learned that, as a kid, Hatchi had saved Rayleigh's life. The rest of the conversation had been catching up between Rayleigh and Hatchi. The pirates did learn that in order to reach Fishman Island, their ship had to be coated in some kind of bubbly substance. It turned out that Rayleigh was a ship-coater by trade and he offered them his services for free. Nami immediately accepted his offer before Zoro had added morosely, "Well, we won't need that for a while. We have other things to do first." The mood had immediately soured but Rayleigh had only narrowed his eyes before turning to Hatchi and regaling him with a story of a previous client who'd been deathly allergic to the bubbly substance and had to give up his career as a pirate. He continued telling stories until they arrived at the bar. For a married couple that hadn't seen each other in months, Rayleigh and Shakky were surprisingly sedate with their greetings, merely smiling at each other and saying casual greetings. As soon as everyone was seated, Rayleigh became serious.

"This is obviously more than just a social call, Hatchi. You're risking your lives being on Sabaody," Rayleigh said, gesturing to Hatchi and Camie. "And you've brought an infamous rookie crew along with you – one without its captain. Oh, yes," he responded to the sharp looks he got. "I know you all are the Straw Hat crew. Your captain is Monkey D. Luffy, the pirate who defeated Crocodile, invaded Enes Lobby, and did who knows what else. He also somehow managed, as a child, to gain the trust and respect of another infamous pirate – Red-Haired Shanks. I know all about Luffy's hat. I actually know how Shanks got the hat in the first place. We were on the same crew once, a long time ago." All eight pirates stared in shock at Rayleigh. "It's a rather long story that can certainly wait until your captain is back. Suffice it to say, I was the First Mate of Gol D. Roger, King of the Pirates." The shock the crew had felt before paled in comparison to their feelings at this revelation.

Robin recovered first. "_Gol_ _D._ Roger?" she asked.

Rayleigh chuckled. "Yes. Gol D. Roger. Nicknamed 'Gold Roger' by the Marines. I know it's not what you all were expecting, and I will explain. But I can tell there's something more important to discuss at the moment."

Nami brought out the newspaper with the story of Luffy's capture and handed it over to Rayleigh. After he read it, she spoke, "It's mostly lies. I mean, he _was_ captured. But not by Garp. It was Bartholomew Kuma. Luffy was on _Thriller Bark_ and had just defeated Gecko Moria. If we hadn't been so exhausted, we could have fought Kuma off, too. He just… appeared out of nowhere, asking about Luffy and his brother, Ace."

The crew jolted at this and looked at her. "You didn't tell us he asked about Ace!" Usopp shouted.

Nami looked around. "Well, it wasn't exactly relevant. I mean, all Kuma did is ask if they were brothers."

"Yohohoho! I didn't know Luffy-san had a brother!" Brook said.

"OW! Luffy never mentioned that. I bet his brother is SUPER!" Franky chimed in.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you guys wouldn't know. We only know because Ace showed up on Alabasta. He's super strong: Luffy said he's never been able to beat Ace at anything," Chopper said.

"Ace… would this be Portgas D. Ace you speak of? The second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?" asked Shakky.

Nami and Usopp nodded. Franky's eyes widened.

Shakky and Rayleigh shared a look. "It seems like I might have some bad news for you all," Rayleigh said. The crew looked at him, confused. "Not too long ago, there was a newspaper claiming that Portgas D. Ace was captured by a man who calls himself Blackbeard. In return, they named Blackbeard one of the Seven Warlords."

"What?!" shouted the crew.

"Blackbeard! That's the name of the guy that Ace said he was hunting down! He was following any rumor of him. Ace said that this Blackbeard guy was a Whitebeard pirate before he killed another crew member," exclaimed Nami.

"Yeah. He's the one who was on Drum," added Chopper, still reeling from shock.

To everyone's surprise, Zoro starting laughing. "Do you realize that Luffy is actually probably one step ahead of us on this one?" Everyone looked confused. "He was captured, which means he's been sent – or will be sent – to the same place as Ace. That means he probably already found out about this. I can pretty much guarantee that whenever we find Luffy, we're gonna find Ace not far behind."

"And if Kuma knows that they're brothers…" Chopper started.

"You can bet that the Marines and World Government do too," finished Nami.

"Add to that the fact that he's the son of Dragon and his sentencing probably won't be too kind," Sanji put in. Rayleigh, Shakky, Hatchi, Camie, and Pappug's eyes all widened at this news.

"But keep in mind that he's Garp's grandson," pointed out Robin. "It definitely won't be a kind sentence, whatever it is. But figuring it all out is going to be a bit complicated."

"Speaking of Dragon…" began Nami, "what do you think he's going to do about all of this? I mean, if both Ace and Luffy have been captured…"

"But I don't think Ace is Dragon's son," said Sanji. Nami looked at him. "Sorry, Nami-swan, but think about it. His name is _Portgas_ not _Monkey_. We obviously don't know the whole story, but it doesn't seem likely that Ace and Luffy have the same father."

"I'm not sure about their fathers, but I don't think they have the same mother," Rayleigh interjected. The pirates looked around at him as if they'd forgotten he was there. "I knew a woman named Portgas D. Rouge. She was an impressive woman and I think she might be his mother. She died after giving birth, in fact. And I know that Garp was in the area right after her death. Ace is the older brother, right? How can his mother have had Luffy later if she had died?"

The crew looked around at each other. "I know Luffy is all about leaving the past in the past, but…" Usopp began. "I'm starting to realize we know nothing about him. I don't mean that we can't trust him!" he quickly corrected himself, sensing immediate hostility from his crewmates. "I just mean that it'd be a hell of a lot easier to figure out what's most likely to happen with his family if we knew who they were. I mean, if three of his family members are these insanely strong people, who's to say that the others aren't just as crazy? Like, maybe if we knew who they were, we could get their help somehow."

The crew was quiet after this, letting the conversation die out. After waiting a minute, Rayleigh spoke up, "Since you all are obviously planning on going after him, I'm guessing Hatchi brought you to me to ask for help?"

Hatchi shyly nodded. "I owe Luffy-san – and all of his crew – a debt. Well, more than a debt, really. But I wanted to help. You were close by and, well…" Hatchi paused, hesitating to continue.

"And I owe _you _a debt," Rayleigh finished for him. Hatchi peered up at Rayleigh's face and nodded slowly. Rayleigh sighed. He looked at the crew. "So what is your plan?"

Zoro responded, "Go get Luffy."

Rayleigh nodded. "Yes. Straightforward. But _how_?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Well Hatchi seems to believe that's where you come in. I still say we just storm the prison."

Nami hit Zoro on the head. "We already told you! Luffy's probably not even there yet! Besides, it's the most secure prison in the world. Even if you _are_ a monster, there's gonna be monsters from the Marines swarming all over the place."

"Actually, the Marines are not the prison guards," Shakky said. "The guards are a separate faction of the World Government. The Marines and the guards only barely tolerate each other. But your friend has a point – storming Impel Down successfully would be impossible with just you all. I'd wager even Whitebeard himself would have a world of trouble."

"Yes, which is why the Marines are not going to be anticipating a small-scale attack," said Robin. The crew looked at her. "Since they've already announced that Luffy has been placed in Impel Down, it is unlikely that we will learn when it actually occurs. We need to wait until a reasonable amount of time has passed so we can be sure of his whereabouts. And we need to use that time to plan. As you said before, it took basically an army to infiltrate Enes Lobby. We don't have an army this time. It's just us. Even if Luffy's family does something, we don't know how to contact them or when to expect them. We need to continue on as if nobody else is going to help. We need to carefully plan this. If we fail, we'll already be in the prison so it won't be hard to just throw us in a cell. We're going to be walking into a trap that has been laid since the prison was built. Our only advantage here is that they don't expect us." It was by far one of the longest speeches the crew had ever heard Robin make, but they knew she was right.

"So what now?" asked Brook. "If we have to wait a while, then where should we wait and plan it out? Here?"

"No," Rayleigh said. "To get to Impel Down without using the Marine's private current, we'll have to sail for several days. We need to start out as soon as possible to get closer."

"We?" asked Sanji.

Rayleigh looked at him. "Of course. I'm coming along as well. I do owe Hatchi. But, as I said, I want to meet your captain. I would have helped you even if Hatchi hadn't asked." Nami, Usopp, and Chopper's faces lit up.

"Really?" Chopper said.

"I'll come to," Hatchi said. "I mean…" he looked at Nami uncertainly. "If that's okay. I want to help."

Nami stared at him while the crew stared at her. She said, "Hatchi… you don't have to. I know you feel bad about Cocoyashi but it's okay. Luffy took down Arlong and you've already done enough."

He looked at her determinedly. "It'll never be enough. Arlong… we killed… and the villagers – we put them through hell. Years of it. But it isn't just you that I owe and it isn't just you that I need to prove myself to. I'm extremely grateful to Luffy-san for defeating Arlong and I want to help him for his sake."

A small uplift of the corner of her lips was all that betrayed Nami's smile. "Fine. Come along. But Camie and Pappug; you guys should really go home," she addressed the mermaid and the starfish sitting on barstools directly.

Camie looked astonished at being addressed by name, as if she'd grown used to being in the background. She looked at Pappug in the seat next to her. "I appreciate the thought, Nami-san. But I think I'll stick with you guys for this. I've never met your captain but he must be amazing if you can get the first mate of the Pirate King on your side as well as Hatchi. Besides, it's an underwater prison, right? I'm a mermaid so I can help out somehow, I'm sure."

"No. Absolutely not. Nuh-uh," Hatchi said loudly, turning to glare at Camie. "I let you come to Sabaody against my own instincts. And I let you disguise yourself as a human for the takoyaki shop. But I will not allow you anywhere near Impel Down. There are more dangers in the Grand Line than you can even imagine. And being a mermaid will not save you from sea monsters and evil people. You are not coming." As he spoke, he stepped up close to Camie and loomed over her.

Camie was unfazed. "You," she started, poking him hard in the chest, "are not the boss of me. I understand that the world is dangerous. I've stayed away from Sabaody all my life because of it. And I've never gone far from home. I've heard the stories, Hatchan. I know very well what people think of mermaids and fishman and I don't need you," here she poked him again, "to remind me of that. I finally meet nice people who couldn't care less that I'm a mermaid and you want me to just leave them alone? I know what they're setting out to do and I'm going to join them." She finished, crossing her arms and staring him down with a glare that only women seemed able to master. Hatchi stared at her, slack-jawed and bewildered.

Robin and Nami smiled at her. Sanji started to swoon and declare his love for her ("Camie-chan is so beautiful when she is determined!") while Zoro looked at her with approval. The other crew members watched the exchange not without some amusement.

Rayleigh's booming laugh drew their attention away from Hatchi's floundering. "Well, that settles that. Shakky, my dear," he said, turning to his wife, "I'm sorry to be leaving so soon after arriving. It seems another adventure is calling my name. I trust you'll be comfortable here for a few more weeks?"

Shakky smiled at him. "Yes, I'll be fine. I can handle myself, as you well know. You and Hatchi aren't the only retired pirates in the room. Have a grand adventure." The two shared a long look that spoke of years of love and companionship.

"I didn't know you used to be a pirate, Shakky-san," said Usopp.

She turned to him and merely nodded before picking up a rag and cleaning some unseen spot on the wooden bar top.

Rayleigh disappeared to the back room as the Straw Hats and Camie finished their drinks. By the time Rayleigh returned minutes later, he was carrying a small bag and everyone had finished. They milled outside the entrance for a moment while Rayleigh said goodbye to his wife. Once he emerged from the bar, he looked younger and more eager than he had since they first saw him slammed to the street only a couple of hours earlier. He gestured to Zoro, the de facto leader of their group and they all set off for the _Thousand Sunny._ Very quickly Zoro's direction was corrected and his lead position was taken over by Nami. _Then_ they all set off for the ship.

* * *

**Thanks for your patience! Please leave reviews! I can't make the story better if you don't tell me what you do and do not like!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Hello, all! I'm back with the next chapter!**

**Side note: The timeline of this story isn't terribly important, but I would like everyone to realize that anytime there is a section about Luffy or Marineford (so far, anyway), it occurs a day or two later than what just happened with the Straw Hats. For example, Luffy woke up for the first time the same day the crew met Hatchi and Camie. And this chapter happens two days after the crew and co. all leave Sabaody. If you don't care, then just ignore this note. If you would like a complete timeline, let me know. **

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

* * *

He was so damn _bored_. He wasn't allowed to do _anything_. Like, at all. He had tried singing but apparently that had bothered people. Bothered? What kind of people hated songs? And none of the doctor people wanted to talk to him. He had taken to pressing the button on the side of his bed to call the doctor people but then they took it away from him because he used it too much. They were all mean. All they would do was tell him to wait for Garp. No, Luffy had spent all his childhood waiting for Garp and dreading that he would actually come. That's one of the reasons he wanted to be a pirate in the first place! He couldn't even take a leak without telling someone first. And a man should be able to take a piss whenever he wants to. It was a man's right as a man.

He knew he should stay in bed to heal his wounds, just like Chopper would have said. But this stupid room was so boring. And Luffy had actually started looking forward to seeing Garp! He was losing his mind. The only interesting parts were when Coby showed up. He and Luffy would talk for a short time before Coby had to go be a Marine again. At least, that's what Coby said, but Luffy didn't understand. Did Coby stop being a Marine while talking to him? Luffy was still a pirate when talking to Coby or anyone else.

He did have one thing to occupy his time; thinking. Which was even less fun than sitting there not thinking. But Luffy actually had a lot to think about: his crew and his brother. He figured his crew was fine since Garp said they hadn't been captured. Nami and Robin probably had a complicated plan in place to come get him. He trusted his crew completely and he knew they wouldn't let him down. But… Ace. That was the problem. Ace needed help whether he wanted it or not and Luffy needed to figure out how to do that. Since he was going to be thrown into the same prison as Ace, then it shouldn't be too big of a deal. But his crew hadn't known about Ace being captured before and they probably still didn't know. And Luffy couldn't let them know to hold off on rescuing him because the Sea Prism handcuffs were keeping him in bed.

Luffy had never been exposed to Sea Prism for such a long time before and he hated to admit it, but it was taking a toll on him. It made him drowsy and weak when he was awake and he never felt like he'd actually gotten any sleep, despite spending most of his time asleep. His wounds were extremely slow to heal and almost seemed to be getting worse instead of better. The doctors assured him that he was making progress, but he felt worse each day and slept longer each day than the last. Which, he thought, actually helped with his boredom problem.

Luffy had woken up with an itch on his forehead that he couldn't seem to get at with any kind of maneuvering of his head and pillow and it was slowly driving him crazy. He was considering calling out for help once again when Garp walked into the room. It had been two days since he'd last visited, and a small part of him felt happy to see his grandfather.

"Grandpa! Finally! Can you scratch my forehead?" Luffy practically shouted.

Garp looked at Luffy incredulously before sighing and walking over to scratch his forehead. As he did so, he took a careful look at his grandson, noticing with dissatisfaction that Luffy had developed big dark circles under his eyes and his body was shaking slightly. He surreptitiously checked for a fever and found, to his displeasure, the pale skin to be slightly warmer than normal. He took a step back and saw Luffy's eyes slowly blink open, as if it was almost too much energy for him to stay awake.

"I hear you've been giving the staff a difficult time, Luffy," Garp said.

Luffy pouted, "It's not my fault. There's nothing to do here. Anything fun I try to do and they get mad at me. They should at least play a game with me or something."

"They're busy, Luffy. They have other patients to attend to and they can't spend all day in here trying to make you less bored."

Luffy just let out a breath before slumping back onto his bed. "Can you at least take these off, then?" he asked, lifting up his hands, causing the cuffs to clink. "I promise I won't go anywhere."

"No, Luffy. Those are on for a reason and I know you _would _try to go somewhere so don't even start," Garp responding, not wanting to tell Luffy the real reason he wouldn't take the cuffs on.

Luffy was pouting again. "Did you at least bring me something to do?"

"Well, all I had for you was your hat and I gave you that two days ago, so no. But I'm here so we can have a man-to-man chat. That'll give you something to do," Garp said.

Luffy's reaction was to scrunch up his face and try to fold his arms only to be stopped by the handcuffs. "It's okay. We don't have to," he said.

"Yes, we really do. I need to tell you that I know you're going to try to find a way to rescue Ace and escape Impel Down and that it is impossible. You'll just get yourself killed trying to escape and probably Ace as well," Garp said.

"If I die, then I die. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in a cell, Grandpa. Ace doesn't want that either. I know he'll be mad at me for helping him, but I don't care."

Most of the time, Luffy either made no sense or acted stupidly. Garp was used to that by now. Luffy certainly hadn't gotten his brains from his father, and occasionally Garp regreted not giving him a better education. But there were times when Luffy would say something that did make sense and was actually very wise. His simplicity was two sides of the same coin and his straightforwardness could pierce through a complicated situation to its very core, delineating the good choice from the bad choice in a way that was rare. At times like those, like now, Garp was set back on his heels. At times like now, he saw that Luffy would actually make a very good Pirate King (though he'd kill himself before ever even slightly hinting at that). Garp knew that his grandson had immense strength, but he also knew that his strength was not what would earn him success – it was his simplicity and his odd charisma that had a knack for drawing people from all walks of life to him.

Barely a minute into the conversation and Garp knew that nothing he could say would deter Luffy from trying to help Ace. So he decided to present all the facts to him instead. "Luffy, you need to understand what's going to happen with Ace. You know who his father is, right?" Luffy nodded, still not understanding. "Then can you guess what his sentence will be? Hell, even if he was the son of some nobody, look at what he's become. He's third in command of one of the strongest and most infamous pirate crews of all time. What do you think the Government is going to decide for him?"

Luffy looked confused. "I don't know, Grandpa. I've never met the Government people so why would I know what they will decide? It doesn't matter who his dad is, either. And I thought he was already in prison. Are they going to punish him more?"

Garp exhaled a loud, disbelieving breath. "You don't have to meet them to know what they're gonna decide!" He nearly shouted. "He's in prison while waiting for them to decide what to do with him. And you may not care about his father, but why do you think I raised him in secret, Luffy? Why do you think that it's a secret who his father is? Why do you think he's so angry about his father all the time? Why do you think he wanted to make a name for himself, to get out from under his father's shadow?" Luffy just stared at him. "It's the same reason you didn't know about your father and it's the same reason you never met him. It would get you killed, Luffy. Both of you. People, especially the Marines, hated Roger. And nobody is terribly fond of the Revolutionary Army, either. People would look at you and Ace and see your fathers. They would kill you to hurt your dad, to get him to stop annoying the Government. Ace would be a way for people to let out their frustration at Roger. If the world knew who Ace was, he would have died before he was born."

Luffy's eyes were wide as he stared at Garp, fatigue forgotten. "But… It shouldn't matter who Ace's dad is. He _isn't _Roger. And Roger is dead so why are people still angry at him?"

"Because, Luffy, he was a pirate. Even _you_ have to have realized by now that most people hate pirates. And Roger was the worst of them – or the best, depending on how you look at it. People hail Roger as a hero for what he accomplished, but he made enemies and people across the world were happy to see him die when he was executed. They don't want his son to become him and their hate for Roger is strong enough that they would demand his child be killed, too."

"That's stupid." Now Luffy was mad, no longer confused or disbelieving. "If they're gonna hate Ace, they should hate him for what he's done, not his dad."

"I agree, Luffy. It's messed up but that's how the world works. That's why I wanted you both to be Marines – show the world that you aren't defined by your parents. But you both turned out to be pirates anyway. And look where that's gotten us." Garp paused for a moment before adding, "So, can you guess now what Ace's sentence will be?"

"They're gonna kill him, right?" Luffy said.

"And can you guess what your sentence is going to be?" Garp asked.

"They're going to kill me, too." Luffy said simply. "If I don't rescue Ace. Sorry, Grandpa, but you can't stop me.

Garp sighed again. "I know I can't stop you, Luffy. But at least now you know what both your sentences will be. Do with that information what you want, but there it is." Here, Garp paused, wondering if he should actually reveal _all_ the information. While he didn't want his grandsons to die, he knew that they had made their choices and he refused to betray the Marines by giving away too much information. He knew that Nefertari Cobra and some allies he had gathered were speaking to the World Government leaders in regards to Luffy's sentence. Garp realized that even if Luffy knew, it wouldn't change anything about what Luffy did, so he decided not to speak up. Besides, with their conversation ended, Luffy was falling back asleep.

"Go to sleep, Luffy. You still have a few more days before you are discharged so you can't do any rescuing right now." Garp stood up and grabbed the straw hat smooshed under Luffy's head and placed it on top of his grandson's chest as it evened out with deep, sleeping breaths. He noticed once more the paleness of his skin and the flush of his cheeks. His brow furrowed, Garp felt Luffy's pulse, noting that while it was steady, it wasn't nearly as strong as it had been two days ago. Luffy had also been able to stay awake longer than this earlier, even on the first day he woke up. Perhaps the Sea Prism wasn't a great idea. Sea Prism was what the Marines normally used for Devil Fruit users but the doctors had warned him that they typically waited until the patient was mostly recovered before placing such constraints on them. Garp had been adamant that his grandson would be able to heal despite the added drain, but he was almost ready to concede that perhaps he had been overly zealous in his insistence. He decided to find Luffy's doctor and see what the new symptoms might mean.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**I'm back with a new chapter. I know it's been awhile. Since the last time I updated, I have moved to a new country! It has been a hectic few months and I apologize for the delay. **

**Guys, I tried super freaking hard to find out how long it takes to get from Sabaody to Impel Down canonically. I watched the episode where Luffy talks to Elder Nyon about going to Sabaody vs. Impel Down, I watched the episodes where Luffy is on the Marine ship with Hancock to see if it ever comes up, and I tried good old-fashioned google (led me to all these fan theories about the One Piece timeline). Since they never actually went from Sabaody to Impel Down in canon, I decided to make an educated guess based on some maps of the Grand Line. I hope it will suffice.**

* * *

Everybody used the quiet days in different ways. Normally, Sanji would spend most of the day in the kitchen, making recipes and notes and lists of things to buy, occasionally coming out on deck to lavish praises and treats upon Nami and Robin. Zoro would either train or sleep, or very rarely get roped into fishing with Usopp and Chopper and Luffy. Nami would be writing in the logbook, making a map, or sunbathing on deck (taking the obligatory breaks to forcefully quiet down a certain trio on board). Franky would be in the engine room, or in any other part of the ship, tinkering. Usopp might be refilling his ammunition stash, inventing something, or wreaking general havoc on board. Chopper could easily be found in the library researching new medicines or in the infirmary creating said medicines. He might also be on deck with Usopp and Luffy, adding to the chaos. Robin would be reading or sunbathing; perhaps even disappearing into unknown parts of the ship on occasion. That's what everyone _would _be doing, if things were normal.

Brook had yet to develop a pattern for activities onboard _Sunny _and found it difficult to imagine to the fun-loving crew he ran into back in the fog of the Florian Triangle before they had ever set foot on _Thriller Bark_. The change, for those able to make the comparison, was drastic. Sanji still spent most of the time in the kitchen, but very little of it was productive food research. Occasional loud clangs could be heard along with a few choice curse words. Nami spent more time writing in her personal journal and making maps, and any time spent on deck had her looking at the ships' railing and at the figurehead every few moments. Robin, at least outwardly, changed her habits the least. One noticeable difference, for those paying attention, was the decrease in number of books consumed. Franky spent more time on his inventions, frequently stopping halfway through and throwing them out only to begin again. He and Usopp spent much time together in the workshop, working on something they wouldn't talk about. Chopper researched more fervently than ever, mixing herbs into concoctions that littered the infirmary. In fact, the room was a complete disaster. Books were stacked and scattered on every surface and there were half-empty jars with various states on bubbling or gooey liquid. Zoro slept less than anyone had ever seen. He trained almost all day, stopping for meals and discussions with the on-board guests. He went to sleep after everyone else and was awake before even Sanji.

For their part, Hatchi, Camie, Pappug, and Rayleigh stayed mostly out of the way. Hatchi took to helping with chores with gusto. He was on a probationary status in Sanji's eyes and thus was adamant that he needed to do what he could to help the crew. Pappug would sometimes accompany Usopp and Franky in the workshop, and sometimes could be seen leaving with Chopper. Camie spent a good portion of time in the library, next to the aquarium. But you could often see her on deck, sitting in the grass, staring out at the ocean. Rayleigh did a little of everything. He quickly learned the layout of the ship, and just as quickly complimented Franky on a job well done. When Rayleigh found out that Tom had been Franky's teacher, the two had had a long conversation about the properties and intrinsic value of Adam Wood. They talked about the different layouts of the _Sunny_ and Roger's ship, the _Oro Jackson_. When their conversation died down, it was Franky that spoke first.

"Luffy's going to be very excited when he figures out who you are. Anything to do with Roger makes him all ears."

Rayleigh smiled. "I think quite a few things I have to say will interest him greatly," he said cryptically.

Franky gave him a look. "You're an interesting guy."

"You think?" Rayleigh laughed again. "I think Luffy has managed to find a rather interesting crew. It's quite impressive, what you all have managed – even if the papers aren't entirely accurate. Declaring war on the World Government was a bold move."

"Luffy was just getting back a crewmate. He doesn't care about things like declaring war. He was just trying to show them that he wasn't messing around," Franky said.

"Well, either way. It's a bold move. And you all defeated Moria, you said? That makes two Warlords with Crocodile. The Marines are certainly going to hold tight to Luffy while they have him."

"And we'll take on that challenge. Luffy would do the same for any of us," Franky declared, clenching his fists as if ready to punch someone.

Rayleigh smiled again. "Then we'd best get to work on our plan. Impel Down is a fortress so we're going to need a few tricks up our sleeve."

An evil glint entered Franky's eyes. "What do you have in mind, old man?"

* * *

"The problem is the Sea Kings," said Nami, holding an open book. She, Robin, Chopper, Usopp, and Sanji sat in the library, searching the books for references to Impel Down.

"Sea Kings!?" cried Usopp and Chopper, clutching each other.

"Yes. They're supposed to be in the surrounding sea," Robin said.

"What about the Shark Submerge?" asked Sanji, passing out tea.

Nami sighed. "No good," she said, closing the book she held and grabbing another. "Marine ships have hulls line with Sea Prism stone, so it's not a problem for them to approach Impel Down. The Shark Submerge doesn't have that advantage. And that stuff is expensive and hard to find – we don't have enough time to search for some on an island somewhere."

"Why don't we just commandeer a Marine ship, then?" asked Chopper.

"Hmmm," Nami considered. "It's a possibility. But then we need to find a Marine ship that's alone. We'd have to take the ship before anyone on board could call for backup or alert someone."

"The closer we get to the prison, the more Marine ships there will be. And if they've captured both Ace and Luffy, they have to be expecting some kind of showdown. Ace is part of the Whitebeards and their captain is known for his loyalty to his crew. He's going to be showing up at some point to stage a rescue," Robin put in.

"Again, it'd be great if we could contact these people or something!" Usopp shouted. "If Shanks means that much to Luffy, he might be willing to help out and then we'd have two Yonkos. And Dragon could work with us. It'd be so much easier to have those big-names on our side."

"Forget about them," Sanji said. "This isn't their problem."

"Not their problem?!" Usopp asked incredulously. "But it's Luffy! He's –"

"Exactly. It's Luffy," Sanji interrupted. "And Luffy is _our_ captain, not theirs. So he's _our_ responsibility. Sure, it'd be great if they showed up and helped out, but we can't rely on them. How can we expect to be the crew of the King of the Pirates if we can't even save our captain from some shitty prison guards?"

Usopp swallowed audibly. Sanji's words had everyone sitting up straighter and silence once more stole over the group as they turned back to their books, searching for anything they could find.

* * *

"It's all underwater, right?" asked Camie. She, Pappug, Hatchi, and Brook were sitting on the deck of the _Thousand Sunny_. Zoro was near them, lifting weights.

"No, not all of it," Hatchi responded. "The entrance is above the water. Underneath, there are five levels of the prison. The deepest level is where all the worst criminals are held. I'm not sure where Luffy-san will be held, but with his 300 million bounty, it has to be on one of the lower levels."

"Well, that's good, right?" asked Camie. "The three of us," she gestured to herself, Pappug, and Hatchi, "should be able to get to the prison underwater with no problem."

"That's assuming they don't have anyone or anything guarding from underwater," Brook put in.

"Oh, yeah," Camie said, deflating.

"Don't worry, Camie. I'm sure Nami-san and the others will find something in those books about it," Pappug reassured her.

"Assuming we can go underwater, where would we be able to break in? " Hatchi pondered. "We might end up flooding the whole prison if we just break through the wall."

"Gah! This'd be so much easier if we had blueprints or something!" Pappug complained.

"It's a maximum security prison," said Zoro, still lifting weights. They all looked at him as he continued, "They won't just have blueprints lying around."

"I know that!" shouted Pappug. "I'm just saying it'd be a lot easier."

Zoro set down the weights and gathered his equipment. "It doesn't matter if it's easy. We won't fail, no matter what." He stalked off, carrying his equipment.

All four stared after him. "Geez," Pappug mumbled, "what's his problem? We're just brainstorming."

"Pappug-san," Brook said, "Zoro-san is in an unusual position right now. He has never thought of himself as vice-captain and that has never been his official title. Now he has been thrust into a position of command. He is most uncomfortable with the way things are and all of us blame ourselves for what happened to Luffy-san. He is very frustrated and does not want to be wasting any time. Please cut him some slack."

Pappug stared at the skeleton before nodding slowly. "You're right. It must be hard on you all."

"I haven't known Luffy-san very long," Brook started, "but in my heart I have already pledged my life to him as my captain. Ah! Although I have no heart and am already dead! Double skull joke!"

"He definitely makes an impression on you," Hatchi agreed, speaking of Luffy.

Camie looked at him oddly. "It's unlike you, Hatchi, to be so…" she trailed off.

"So what?" Hatchi asked.

"So… I don't know. Like this. Impressionable, maybe?" she said.

"Mmm. Mmm," Pappug nodded.

Hatchi looked taken aback. "What do you mean? Luffy-san is a good man. He deserves my respect and gratefulness."

"That!" Camie shouted, pointing at him. "That right there! That's unlike you. You just seem so… manly." Pappug nodded emphatically.

"What?! When have I ever not been manly?" Hatchi asked indignantly.

"I think it's a better question if you ask when you have ever been manly," murmured Pappug.

"What?!" Hatchi yelled.

"Yohohoho! What a funny bunch you are!" Brook laughed.

"Anyway!" said Camie over Hatchi's defenses. "Zoro-san is right, after all. We need to make plans that work without blueprints. The others are probably coming up with ideas as well."

"I'm not the only one showing a new side," Hatchi said quietly. "Camie, you've never even met Luffy-san and you have more spunk than I've ever seen in you."

"What?" Camie said, blushing. "I just feel motivated, that's all! Everyone here is so determined and sure that we'll succeed. I'm just caught up in it!"

Hatchi responded, "Well –"

"Oi, everyone!" Franky's loud voice came from near the foremast.

The group on the deck turned their heads to see Franky and Rayleigh reaching the top of the ladder leading to the soldier dock system.

"Oh, Franky-san, Rayleigh-san," Brook said. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Franky responded. "Where is everyone?"

"I believe Zoro is in the crow's nest and everyone else is in the library," Brook informed him.

Franky turned to the aft of the ship and shouted "Oi! Everyone! Come to the deck!" He turned his head upwards and shouted "Zoro-bro!"

Within minutes, all twelve passengers sat or stood on the grassy deck.

"Alright, Franky. We're all here. What is it?" Usopp asked. Franky sat on the circular bench surrounding the foremast. His grin was readily visible to those in front of him. Rayleigh stood to his side, expressionless.

"We have an idea about how to get there unnoticed," Franky announced.

The crew all exclaimed with hopeful voices.

"I must impress upon you all that it isn't foolproof and it can certainly use some tinkering, but it's a start," Rayleigh added.

"Tell us!" Chopper shouted, his eyes welling up in anticipation. A few of the other crew members nodded in agreement.

Franky's smirk got bigger and he let out short triumphant laugh. "Rayleigh was telling me how people get to Fishman Island." Here he paused.

"So?" Nami asked. "We can worry about that after all this is over."

"So… Fishman Island is 10,000 meters under the sea," Franky continued.

Camie, Hatchi, and Pappug gasped. "Of course…" Camie murmured.

The crew looked at them in exasperation. "Care to share with the class?" Sanji said to Franky.

Franky's smile was its biggest yet. "_So,_ to get to Fishman Island, you have to coat your ship in this certain substance that allows a massive air bubble to form around your ship, letting no water in or air to escape."

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper shouted. Most of the other crew members reacted with immediate understanding and eagerness.

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "So?" The crew turned to him, disbelieving.

"_So_, marimo, that means we can do the same thing to get to this underwater prison," Sanji responded snarkily.

After the obligatory griping about Sanji's nickname for him, Zoro still seemed confused as he looked around at all the suddenly eager faces on deck and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whatever. If you guys have figured it out, that's great."

"Idiot!" Nami smacked him. "You need to understand this if it works. " She turned back to Rayleigh. "How exactly does this… coating work?"

"Usually ships hire someone at Sabaody to do the coating for them. The substance they use is the same as the one that makes the floating bubbles on Sabaody," Rayleigh explained.

"Great, so we have to go back to Sabaody," Usopp muttered darkly.

"We can't go back now," Sanji said. "We'd lose too much time."

"Relax, you don't need to go back," Rayleigh cut in quickly. "I'm a ship-coater by trade now. I can handle the coating easily."

"That's great!" Chopper yelled.

"Do you not require the substance from the island?" Robin asked.

"Taken care of," Rayleigh lifted a decent-sized bag he had brought on deck with him. It was the one that he had grabbed before leaving Shakky's Bar.

The crew stared at him and the bag. "So you've planned this all along?" Robin questioned.

Rayleigh nodded before speaking. "I knew it would be your best shot at reaching the prison unnoticed. The coating process takes three days. But there are other obstacles that need to be overcome. So while I'm coating the ship, I expect you all will come up with several ideas. By the time I have finished, we will almost be there. We also must determine when your captain is actually sent to the prison. From what Franky told me, it seems likely that he is still in Marine Headquarters recovering from his fight with Gecko Moria. If we break into the prison prior to his arrival, it would all be for nothing."

"Wait a minute!" shouted Usopp. The others looked at him. "Why are we waiting? Why can't we just intercept the ship taking Luffy to the prison? Why don't we just rescue him before he even gets there?"

"Because," Franky began. "Impel Down is one of the three Government Islands connected by the Gates of Justice. It's the same as Enies Lobby. They will be coming from the third island – Marineford – so they would take the current exclusive to Marine ships."

"Besides," Nami added. "Ace is in Impel Down, too. Luffy would never leave his brother in prison. He'd just break in himself so we might as well do it for him." Usopp grudgingly accepted these answers. With a sense of boosted morale, Rayleigh began laying out his tools as the others renewed their planning.


End file.
